Review: A Life That Fits by Heather Wardell

Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: June 1, 2011
Format: E-book
Pages: 240
Source: Author

From Goodreads: Twenty-eight-year-old Andrea returns home from a business trip to find Alex, her boyfriend of fourteen years, nervously waiting for her. Assuming he's finally going to propose, Andrea's instead horrified to learn he's been cheating on her and is leaving to be with the other woman, who he calls Andrea's opposite.

At first Andrea's paralyzed by shock and sadness, but the business analyst soon forms a plan: change every last detail of her life and become her opposite so Alex will come back to her.

It's a challenge at first, but soon Andrea's loving the changes she's making, the new activities she's doing, and the new people in her life. But will she change enough to get Alex back? And if she does, will he fit into the wonderful new life she's creating for herself?

My review: This is a story about growth and self discovery, reminding the reader that teens aren’t the only ones figuring out who they are. When Andrea’s long-time boyfriend leaves she is suddenly alone…and lost. She wallows in her heartbreak and along the way realizes that she doesn’t know who she is anymore. She sets out on a plan to win her boyfriend back by becoming the opposite of who she was with him.

Along the way she truly discovers herself and it is such a wonderful transformation to witness. It wasn’t easy, nor was it without tears. She struggled with her decisions and made a few wrong moves but she puts herself out there in a quest to find herself. I loved how daring she forces herself to be – jumping into conversations with strangers on the subway, joining a multitude of hobby classes and picking up a piece of her she left in band class in high school.

I think everyone has wanted to do something as exotic as this – doing exactly the opposite of what you would normally do. Most of us don’t have the means or opportunity to shelve our responsibilities, spouses, children and the other many items relying on us to be our normal selves. I lived vicariously through Andrea as she went through this journey - sending her encouragement when she was nervous and yelling at her for her mistakes.

A story of romance, of self-discovery and of new beginnings, this is a wonderful book full of hope.