Book ~ "I Almost Forgot About You" (2016) Terry McMillan

From Goodreads ~ In "I Almost Forgot About You", Dr. Georgia Young's wonderful life - great friends, family, and successful career - aren't enough to keep her from feeling stuck and restless. 

When she decides to make some major changes in her life, including quitting her job as an optometrist and moving house, she finds herself on a wild journey that may or may not include a second chance at love. 

Georgia’s bravery reminds us that it’s never too late to become the person you want to be, and that taking chances, with your life and your heart, are always worthwhile.

Georgia is in her mid-50s, twice divorced and has a successful career as an optometrist.  Her two daughters are grown and moved away from home.  Though Georgia has some close friends, she's bored and lonely.  She decides to shake things up a bit by selling her house and changing her career ... she just has to figure out what she wants to do now.

She decides to make a list of the men who had meant something to her in the past and let them know what they had meant to her.  She starts to connect with them, including her two ex-husbands who are the fathers of her daughters.  In the meantime, one of her daughters is having marital problems, her other daughter has quit university, her elderly mother is in love and one of her best friends is talking about moving to Arizona.

It's been a while since I've read one of this author's books and I thought it was okay.  It is written in first person perspective in Georgia's voice.  It was a nice change to read a story about a woman who isn't in her twenties or thirties and was my age.  I like Georgia's spirit in trying to find herself but think she kind of sold out at the end (apparently you can't be complete and happy without a man).

I found there were a lot of characters to keep track of, especially the men ... some who stayed in the story and some just past through.  As a head's up, there is a lot of swearing (many many F-bombs) which I thought conflicted with how well educated Georgia and her friends were.

Book ~ "Getting to Happy" (2010) Terry McMillan

From Penguin ~ An exuberant return to the four unforgettable heroines of Waiting to Exhale—the novel that changed African American fiction forever.

Terry McMillan's Waiting to Exhale was more than just a bestselling novel—its publication was a watershed moment in literary history. McMillan's sassy and vibrant story about four African American women struggling to find love and their place in the world touched a cultural nerve, inspired a blockbuster film, and generated a devoted audience.

Now, McMillan revisits Savannah, Gloria, Bernadine, and Robin fifteen years later. Each is at her own midlife crossroads: Savannah has awakened to the fact that she's made too many concessions in her marriage, and decides to face life single again—at fifty-one. Bernadine has watched her megadivorce settlement dwindle, been swindled by her husband number two, and conned herself into thinking that a few pills will help distract her from her pain. Robin has an all-American case of shopaholism, while the big dream of her life—to wear a wedding dress— has gone unrealized. And for years, Gloria has taken happiness and security for granted. But being at the wrong place at the wrong time can change everything. All four are learning to heal past hurts and to reclaim their joy and their dreams; but they return to us full of spirit, sass, and faith in one another. They've exhaled: now they are learning to breathe.

It's been a while since I've read Waiting to Exhale or saw the movie ... but it's not needed in reading this book.

I started this book yesterday while reclining in a deckchair under a cabana in the rain in Punta Cana. I got engrossed in the story of these four women and found it hard to put down. I finished it this morning just after breakfast.

Now I want to reread Waiting to Exhale and rent the movie, along with rereading/reading McMillan's other books.

It is an enjoyable read for any woman and I'd definitely recommend it.