(19) The Wife's Tale by Lori Lansens

There but for the grace of God go I .

Mary Gooch is ready to celebrate her 25th wedding anniversary. For twenty-five years Mary has been married to Jimmy Gooch. For twenty-five years Mary has been eating away her feelings. She eats away her grief over losing two pregnancies. She eats away her disappointment in not having kids. She eats her way to 302 pounds.

So here it is on the eve of her 25th wedding anniversary and her husband does not come home. Mary is forced to actually wake up to life. She follows the trail to California and finds out that she is stronger than she thought. She is forced out of her comfort zone and realizes that she IS the kind of person who can lose weight and make friends. And be IMPORTANT in the lives of others.

The Wife's Tale is a "Coming of Age" tale for the forty-something generation. An "Ugly Duckling" story if you will. The people in her life have labeled her for so long as "Gooch's fat wife" that she believes that is all she will ever be. But her journey to California changes all of that.

Lori Lansens has written a fabulous story about a woman who lives inside of so many of us. You may start out pitying Mary, but by the end of the story, you are cheering her on. Her successes, small as they are, become your successes. If she can do it, anyone can do it. Mary Gooch gives us all hope. And hope is a good thing.