After the fire Book

Please give me back the hours I spent reading this book. Starting with the horrid title (because the fire is gone from their marriage, you see?) and ending after 300+ pages of dramadramadrama.
The main character, Hyacinth, is supposedly an artist in a happy marriage. Then suddenly she loses her husband and the custody of the kids (and of course finds that lost artsy side of herself in the process). I feel for her, but even more I'm annoyed by her whining and crying and uselessness. She seems content on being a victim, waiting to be rescued by someone. She's also boring and not very nice (at one point she thinks to herself how her friend will be fat in a few years, the poor thing...because that's the kind of thing you notice about your friends right?).

The book has the word "heartwarming" in the backcover. I usually know to avoid these books...we are never friends.