And One Last Thing by Molly Harper
Lacey Terwillinger found out the hard way that her husband was cheating on her with his new secretary...by receiving a bouquet that was intended for ‘Bumblebee’ from ‘The Stinger,’ all because the florist was a little drunk. After finding all of the things she saw as important in her house (not much), and having packed those up, she sat down to write her husband’s monthly business letter. One shouldn’t mix anger and business together, as it could lead to a libel lawsuit. This hilarious book was insightful into the character of Lacey, who thought she was the perfect wife.
Taking the advice of both her attorney and her mother, Lacey went to cool off in the family’s lakeside cabin. I found myself asking some of the same questions that Lacey did of herself (but luckily I didn’t ask them because I found my husband cheating). What does she really like? Who ARE her friends? What kind of person is she? What kind of people would she want to be friends with? But how exactly did a grown woman ask someone to be her friend? Was there an exchange of woven bracelets involved? I really appreciated how Ms Harper went into Lacey’s character and had her do some soul-searching. You get a sense of who Lacey is, and it was refreshing to read a book with a well-drawn heroine. It was also nice to see Lacey discover WHO she is and blossom.
There were many hilarious scenes in the book, that were sprinkled in between poignant moments of the main character discovering herself. I don’t want to spoil the book, but late-night swimming was involved in one of my favourite parts.
Staying next door to Lacey’s cabin was ‘Wolverine’ – a guy who doesn’t want to be bothered by another psycho divorcee. ‘Lefty’ Monroe helps Lacey discover more about herself, especially with her writing, as he is a famous author and gives her many tips and encouragement. Lacey’s writing helps to empower her, as evidenced by her scathing newsletter about her adulterous husband. Lacey needs to decide what type of writing to do, though, which type will help her to grow more. She had to fight the urge to truly speak her mind and be ‘adult’ about what she says, trying to change herself. I wasnt’ a bad wife. I had a bad husband....Whatever happened to sisterhood? Why can’t we just be honest and support each other? (pg 287)
I had only a few problems with the book. I think that there was almost too much with Monroe and not enough of the lawsuits, but it all gets wrapped up nice and neat in the end. I also thought that Lacey would do/say more about the pity she feels for the homewrecker, BeeBee (read the book, then you would understand why I made this statement). I have not had a chance to read anything else by Molly Harper, but I will keep my eye out for her now. I thought that the characters were whole – you really got a sense of who they were, and they were all different. (I think that Emmett, her brother, is my favourite.) I loved the humor and the pace of the story as well. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes their heroines who discover themselves, and also enjoys a good laugh.
4 Stars!
