I am delighted to be on the blog tour for Sarahlyn Bruck's debut novel. Designer You.
Pam Wheeler checked every box: Happy marriage? Check.
Fantastic kid? Check. Booming career? Check.
So when her husband dies in a freak accident and their DIY
empire goes on life support, Pam must fix the relationship with her troubled
and grief-stricken daughter and save the family business.
Pam and Nate were a couple who just couldn’t get away from
each other, sharing not only their bed, but also a successful lifestyle empire
as DIY home renovators, bloggers, podcasters, and co-authors.
When Nate dies in a freak accident, Pam becomes a
44-year-old widow, at once too young and too old—too young to be thrust into
widowhood and too old to rejoin the dating pool.
Now the single mother of a headstrong and grief-stricken
teenager, Pam’s life becomes a juggling act between dealing with her loss and
learning how to parent by herself. On top of all that she also must reinvent
herself or lose the empire that she and Nate had built so carefully.
It is time for Pam to seize the opportunity to step up as a
mother, come out from behind Nate’s shadow, and rise as the sole face of the
Designer You brand, and maybe, possibly, hopefully, find love again.
My Thoughts
This was an enjoyable read which certainly started with a shock. You can't help but empathise with Pam who finds herself widowed and left with the remnants of what was a successful life and career. She is forced to take a hard look at herself and to re-evaluate exactly what she wants from life. How much of her successful life was actually her husband's dream?
The relationship between pam and her fifteen year old daughter adds a whole dimension to the story. Grasping second chances and picking yourself up after you have made a mistake are themes which run through the story. You are invited to look beyond the facade to what is actually making life work, just as Pam has to do to keep the design business on the road. With a well paced story and interesting characters who stand up in their own right, this is a women's fiction novel which is well worth a read.
In short: A book which looks beneath the surface of appearances.
About the Author
Sarahlyn Bruck writes contemporary women's fiction and lives
in Philadelphia with her husband and daughter. She is the author of DESIGNER
YOU, published by Crooked Cat Books on August 31, 2018. Sarahlyn teaches
writing and literature at a local community college and also coaches writers
for Author Accelerator.
DESIGNER YOU is Sarahlyn's debut, and she is hard at work on
her next book. Want the latest updates? Follow along for news, events, and
announcements at sarahlynbruck.com. You can sign up for her monthly newsletter
there, too.
Thanks to Sarahlyn Bruck, Crooked Cat Books and Rachel of Rachel's Random Resources for a copy of the book and a place on the tour.
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