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THE EX-WIFE’S SURVIVAL GUIDE by Debby Holt

THE EX-WIFE’S SURVIVAL GUIDE

by Debby Holt

Pub Date: Feb. 1st, 2006
ISBN: 1-4165-1329-9
Publisher: Downtown Press/Pocket

An empty nester realizes that being dumped doesn’t necessarily mean the end of romance.

Sarah is eager to embrace a peaceful country life of painting, tea breaks and old movies with her husband when their twin sons take off to backpack around India. However, Andrew, her hubby of 20 years, has other plans—and they don’t include his 43-year-old wife. When Andrew packs up and moves in with a saucy young actress named Hyacinth, with whom he claims to have finally uncovered the meaning of true love, Sarah is at first angry and ashamed, then resigns herself to making the most of life. She kicks her painting profession into high gear, keeps up social appearances in her small English town and even agrees to play the lead in the local theater production of Rebecca. Part of her new Single Woman routine involves weekly walks, which allow her to spend time learning lines with another jilted lover, Martin. As the days go on, Sarah convinces herself that sex is overrated; all she really needs is hot chocolate and reruns of ER. But when an old friend invites her to Majorca for a weeklong adventure, she plunges headfirst into a heart-thumping affair with a former art-school classmate, a mysterious, handsome fellow she once fancied. Upon her triumphant return home, though, she discovers two men who are not so pleased with the fresh blush in Sarah’s cheeks.

A whimsical portrayal of life after separation.