Three women. Three very different lives. One life-changing adventure. Charlie is a single mum unlucky in life. Her multiple jobs make barely enough to feed the family cat, never mind being able to give her son the life he deserves. So when an opportunity to make a lot of cash comes along, she simply has to take it. Suzie has always wanted to be a mother. But fate has been cruel and now time is running out. Soon her final frozen egg will be destroyed and her last chance of having a baby will go with it. With her husband resolved to their childless life Suzie takes matters into her own hands. Dawn is about to turn fifty and seems to have misplaced her mojo along with the car keys. But with an interfering mother-in-law and a gaggle of judgemental mums at her children's school, it's proving harder to find than a decent fitting bra. Especially after a series of highly embarrassing incidents... Over the course of a year three lives are about to collide and as they do be prepared to laugh, cry and fall in love with these women as they discover how life can give you a second chance. Perfect for fans of Lucy Diamond, Marian Keyes, Sophie Kinsella and Paige Toon.

This book examines the iconic presence of second chances in everyday life. David Newman explores its various iterations in popular culture, commercial marketplaces, religion, intimate relationships, education, criminal justice, and human bodies. He analyzes how this concept—as a cultural aspiration, driver of policy, and lived personal experience—has become part and parcel of our individual sense of self and our collective national identity. While the rhetoric of redemption is familiar and ubiquitous, Newman uncovers the costs and constraints of second chances, paying particular attention to the factors that affect judgments of deservedness. Informed by an array of data sources including personal interviews, mission statements of nonprofit recovery agencies, images in popular culture, stories from the news, plot summaries of novels, and scriptural texts, Newman frames the second chance experience as the quintessential cultural paradox: a concept that simultaneously represents the pinnacle of our shared hopes for renewal and our deepest suspicions about the intransigence of human nature.

A world of possibilities opens up for Joy Harkness when she sets out on a journey that's going to show her the importance of friendship, love, and what makes a house a home Coming-of-age can happen at any age. Joy Harkness had built a university career and a safe life in New York, protected and insulated from the intrusions and involvements of other people. When offered a position at Amherst College, she impulsively leaves the city, and along with generations of material belongings, she packs her equally heavy emotional baggage. A tumbledown Victorian house proves an unlikely choice for a woman whose family heirlooms have been boxed away for years. Nevertheless, this white elephant becomes the home that changes Joy forever. As the restoration begins to take shape, so does her outlook on life, and the choices she makes over paint chips, wallpaper samples, and floorboards are reflected in her connection to the co-workers who become friends and friendships that deepen. A brilliant, quirky, town fixture of a handyman guides the renovation of the house and sparks Joy's interest to encourage his personal and professional growth. Amid the half-wanted attention of the campus's single, middle-aged men, known as "the Coyotes,"and the legitimate dramas of her close-knit community, Joy learns that the key to the affection of family and friends is being worthy of it, and most important, that second chances are waiting to be discovered within us all.

"History professor, Rhiannon Thorson, flees her life in Milwaukee to pursue research in Southern Wales and get a new start on life. Ramsey Macleod, international rock star, is burned out from life in the fast lane and is looking for a new lease on life. When they meet in a small village in Glamorgan, sparks fly, music is made, and they may get a second chance at love, life and happiness."--

This delightful book will take you back to the 1950s, when family and church were everything, to a simpler time in life when family celebrated the good times and worked through the trials together, through two generations. You will laugh. You will cry. You will become involved in the triumphs and challenges that life brings through our choices and the twists and turns that life takes us on. Barbie carries a life-changing event with her to her senior years. The twins, Kara and Tara, navigate love, family, and even the heartache of not being able to have a family. Angelica dreams of becoming a nurse from the age of five, to the challenge of raising a child on her own. After an hour on the trails in the gardens, Tessa suggested they take a rest on the benches ahead. It sounded like a great idea to Angelica. As they approached the benches, a man stood up, facing them. The sun was in her eyes a bit, so Angelica put her hand up to shade them. She smiled at the man politely and walked past him. She was about to sit down, when suddenly she stopped. Quickly, she turned around to take a second look at the man. He was turned, facing her in this direction now. Her mouth dropped open, and she would have fainted if he hadn't caught her. He guided her to the bench, fanning her with his trail map. He retrieved her water bottle, opened it, and handed it to her. She stared at him the whole time she took a drink. Recovering somewhat, Angelica looked at him. "Mark...is that you?" she asked tentatively.

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