This is a memoir of starting over.
Sheila is a forty-something widow. She and her late husband raised two sons, and she is grateful their daddy lived until they were young men. But her boys will be married soon and finding their own paths. Sheila fully understands that her sons can't hold her hand forever. However, she has never lived alone or made major decisions without Barry by her side. Even so, having crawled her way through the dark tunnel of her grief, she is confident she can make it on her own. Her first step towards independence is an educational reprieve in Mexico, a month's sabbatical where she is reminded that life is for living.
Despite her resolve she soon realizes that building a new life for herself is challenging, and she can't seem to find where she "fits." Sheila is not a young, never married, single woman, nor can she relate to friends who are divorcees. And she certainly doesn't fit in with her small Georgia town's gray-haired, elderly widows who have buried their dearly departed husbands only to live out their days alone. Society doesn't seem to have a label for her-other than "poor Sheila." With a "bless her heart" thrown in for good measure.
A piece of her heart will always belong to Barry, but slowly her broken heart heals. But it is a restless heart searching for something unnamed, a vague sense of longing for what she has lost. Sheila accepts her husband's death but wonders if she will spend the rest of her life with only memories and loneliness as her companions. Thankfully, her job fills her days, but nights and weekends are empty. Therefore, she determines to be open to possibilities and accepts pretty much every invitation: a night out with friends, time with family, and various trips that include Christmas in New York. She needs to learn there is life after her soul mate's death.
Friends and family do their best to fill the void and encourage her to begin dating, but that's way out of her wheelhouse. Her experience is limited to a few high school dates, and she married her high school sweetheart. Nonetheless, in her attempt to move forward she dips her toe into the dating pool and realizes that the rules have changed. Her dates often end in discouragement and disappointment; most are filed in the "first date/last date" category-or in the "friends" zone. Regardless, her friends continue to encourage her. She reluctantly accepts their advice not to give up on men and eventually stumbles blindly into a relationship, a learning curve of sorts that leaves her despondent and disillusioned until she sees the light.
Quite by coincidence she meets a man to whom she feels an immediate, and unsettling, attraction and believes the attraction to be mutual. Then again, her radar is rusty as he doesn't seem interested in pursuing a relationship, or even a date, at least not with her. It's just as well because he has recently gained full custody of his two young sons, and raising boys is a roller coaster road which Sheila has already traveled. She accepts that they are in different places in their lives and pushes thoughts of the handsome man with the two little boys to the back of her mind...
Sheila's journey is sometimes complicated, often hilarious, and always an eye-opening experience filled with unexpected hills and valleys. But it is a journey worth taking.
