Driving Lessons
A Novel
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Sometimes life's most fulfilling journeys begin without a map
An executive at a New York cosmetics firm, Sarah has had her fill of the interminable hustle of the big city. When her husband, Josh, is offered a new job in suburban Virginia, it feels like the perfect chance to shift gears.
While Josh quickly adapts to their new life, Sarah discovers that having time on her hands is a mixed blessing. Without her everyday urban struggles, who is she? And how can she explain to Josh, who assumes they are on the same page, her ambivalence about starting a family?
It doesn't help that the idea of getting behind the wheel—an absolute necessity of her new life—makes it hard for Sarah to breathe. It's been almost twenty years since she's driven, and just the thought of merging is enough to make her teeth chatter with anxiety. When she signs up for lessons, she begins to feel a bit more like her old self again, but she's still unsure of where she wants to go.
Then a crisis involving her best friend lands Sarah back in New York—a trip to the past filled with unexpected truths about herself, her dear friend, and her seemingly perfect sister-in-law . . . and an astonishing surprise that will help her see the way ahead.
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In Fishman's latest (Saving Ruth), a former marketing director uproots her life in Brooklyn, New York to move to Farmwood, Virginia for her husband's new teaching position, thinking it's the perfect opportunity to slow down and discover what she wants out of life. Sarah already knows what her husband wants, "Whenever Josh brought up babies, a giant clock descended from the sky and hovered over my head like a UFO," but finding herself proves harder than overcoming her fear of driving. While Josh finds contentment being a professor for a small liberal arts college, Sarah struggles through driving lessons, missing her best friend Mona, finding work that isn't menial, and ignoring her husband's booming biological clock. When Mona is diagnosed with cervical cancer, Sarah uproots her life once more to return to New York and care for her friend. While there, Sarah connects with her sister-in-law and falls in love with her baby nephew, witnessing firsthand the joy and exhaustion of being a new mom. As one friend faces the possibility of never having children, and another acclimates to the intense ups and downs of motherhood, Sarah faces her biggest fear and decides what she wants. While the ending won't shock, Fishman effectively balances humor and tension, crafting an involving portrayal of three women coping with the idea and obstacles of motherhood.
