Ruth's an Austinite (for those of you living outside of the great state of Texas that means she lives in Austin, Texas) and I've been reading her work for years. Her prose is sharp, witty and she can throw a punch with the best of 'em. Women...doesn't disappoint.
Pennebaker's plot centers around Joanie Pilcher, a divorced 50-something Baby Boomer living in a house with her 77-year-old mother, Ivy and her 15-year-old daughter, Caroline. The lingering recession has brought these three women together and they make the best (often worst) of it. Joanie's experience as a mom and a daughter provide plenty of room for humor and some cringe-worthy moments that are all too real.
It's a story that any Boomer with children and aging parents can appreciate. Pennebaker really understands these characters and she paints them with the fine strokes of an Andrew Wyeth canvas. You know these people - hell, you may even live with some of them - and it's refreshing to see other people take on real problems and handle them in a real way.
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakthrough is a page-turning delight for any Baby Boomer - woman or man. Pennebaker pulls back the layers of the sandwich generation to reveal some real heroes. You may even recognize yourself.
Author: Ruth Pennebaker
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Penned: January 2011
Time Out: Pennebaker uses her 320 pages to tell a gripping and funny story of three women you'll recognize from your own life.
Beach Worthy: Yes, indeed. Pick up a copy and put it in your beach bag right now.