Openwork: A Novel Book

'The journey ends when you find your way home...' or so the old saying goes. However, when Claire Bennett's husband Phillip died, she was utterly devastated. Nowhere felt like home anymore and Claire felt lost and directionless. The couple's thriving antiques business and their beautiful house in the Hamptons, the social scene and Claire's volunteer work - everything just seemed so empty and meaningless for Claire without Phillip by her side.

Claire also knows that from the depths of her heart she still mourns a terrible loss from a tragic accident that happened years ago. In her mind, she truly believes that it is this heartbreaking loss which ultimately led to her estrangement from her adult children - her daughter, Amanda and her son, Paul. Claire is convinced that her sadness and grief is unending, and can honestly say that from where she stands, there is absolutely no light to be found at the end of this tunnel.

Desperately fleeing from her painful memories, Claire moves to a condo in Florida. Settling down in Boca Raton, at least for a little while, Claire then impulsively decides to visit her recently engaged daughter in North Carolina. From the sandy beaches of Boca Raton to a tiny farm tucked high in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Claire eventually gains a self-awareness through the unexpected kindness of strangers. Her acceptance of such kindness, forces Claire to finally confront some harsh truths from the past.

She finally acknowledges to herself that she has lost so much more than just her husband and the close, loving relationships with her children. Claire admits to herself that her zest for life has diminished; her joyful demeanor is gone. The joy she once found in living her life has apparently been missing for many years, and now that she has found it again Claire at last reaches out to her son and daughter, hoping to somehow reconnect with them. And when the healing of old wounds leads her to a second chance for new love, Claire realizes that all her travels have brought her to a place where she will never again walk alone.

I must say that while I enjoyed reading this book very much, I found myself not really liking the main character. At least, I felt that way about her towards the beginning of the story; my feelings for her changed as I continued to read the book. The plot was certainly intriguing, and I really wanted to see how the story would develop. I have three other books by Joan Mendlicott - from her Ladies of Covington Series - sitting on my bookshelf. While I'm not quite sure how interesting these books will be, I would certainly give this book a strong A!