Joy For Beginners by Erica Bauermeister

At an intimate, festive dinner party in Seattle, six women gather to celebrate their friend Kate's recovery from cancer. Wineglass in hand, Kate strikes a bargain with them.  To celebrate her new lease on life, she'll do the one thing that's always terrified her: white-water rafting.  But if she goes, all of them will also do something they always swore they'd never do-and Kate is going to choose their adventures. 

Hardcover, 288 pages

Expected publication: June 9th 2011 by Putnam Adult

ISBN

0399157123 (ISBN13: 9780399157127)

This beautifully written book tells several lovely short stories that are all interrelated.  The main character is Kate, a cancer survivor. In Kate, the author Erica Bauermeister,  skillfully captures that nameless quality that exists in people who have had battled cancer and won.  Kate seems to know and understand her friends better than they know themselves.  I found myself wishing that Kate was my friend so I could benefit from her loving wisdom.  In fact, I was wishing that all the women in the story were my friends!


I tried to pick which chapter/story was my favorite, but each has something special to offer the reader.  I couldn't pick just one.  Read it and see if you can.


This is a perfect book for a summer vacation.  it's not too long and the end of each chapter is a perfect place to stop reading and go for a swim.  If you can stop reading...


One last comment, I absolutely love the picture of Erica on the back cover.  She has a wonderful smile and I found myself wishing she was my friend!


P.S. I'm not really that lonely...I really do have some very good friends that resemble some of the characters in this book. : )


Special thanks to Putnam Books and the Penguin Group for providing me with an advance copy of this book.