Category: Women Publisher: Wings ePress, Inc.
ISBN-10: 1597057894
Type: Fiction
Pages: 224
Copyright: May, 2003
ISBN-13: 9781597057899
On her fiftieth birthday, realizing she is not content with her life, Beth Rutledge makes a decision that tests the strength of her marriage, confronts the strained relationship with her mother, and forces her to spend time with the one person she knows the least—herself.
The Year I Lost My Mind is the story of a woman who, on her fiftieth birthday, questions what is lacking in her life that is preventing her from feeling complete.
Beth is happy with her husband, her children, and her career. But something is still missing. She steps away from her life to find that missing piece.
Excerpt
I moved closer to the bed. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry this is so hard for you. I don’t know what else to say. I love you, but I’m not so sure I love me. I know that sounds crazy to you. I just feel like I’ve lost me somewhere along the way and I want myself back. That’s what I was trying to explain when I said this isn’t about you.”
He looked at me without expression. “Beth, everything you do is about me. Don’t you know that? It affects me and if you’re unhappy, then I have to think it has to do with me. And I don’t know what I’ve done to make you want to leave.”
I sat on the edge of the bed and began to cry. “David, honey, you haven’t done anything. You’re you; sure, you do things sometimes that irritate the shit out of me, but I do the same. I know that. This is something I need to do for me and, hopefully, you’ll get a new and improved Beth at the end of it.”
He did the one thing I least expected then—he reached out and took my hand. “But what if I don’t want a new and improved Beth? What if I’m happy with the Beth I have right now?”
Professional Reviews
Kimberley Dehn, Author
Any woman who has experienced turning fifty will appreciate and possibly recognize herself in Beth. The Year I Lost My Mind is another keeper by Linda Rettstatt, a fresh new voice in women’s fiction.
—Kimberley Dehn
www.kimberley-dehn.com
A. Dee Carey, Author
Beth finds a long hidden talent, painting, that frees her to soar. The readers become Beth and find their own wings.
If you read nothing else this month you MUST read The Year I Lost My Mind. Tolstoy can wait, this cannot. On a scale of 1-5 this rates a 7.
—A. Dee Carey
The Fox Lady
www.foxladycarey.com
Foxpaw Reviews www.careyfoxlady.googlepages.com
Norma Seeley, Author
This is the tale of a woman's courage to not only reach out, but within. What she discovers affects everyone around her, but all the while the reader will be rooting for her to succeed.
—Norma Seeley
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