The Saving Graces by Patricia Gaffney

"The Saving Graces" by Patricia Gaffney was recommended to my by one of the newsletters I get for book clubs. It was written in 1999 but is timeless in the story it tells. It has been on the "New York Times" bestseller list and has had numerous positive reviews by authors, magazines and newspapers.

"Meet the Saving Graces, four of the best friends a woman can ever have.

For ten years, Emma, Rudy, Lee and Isabel have shared a deep affection that has helped them deal with the ebb and flow of expectations and disappointments common to us all. Calling themselves the Saving Graces, the quartet is united by understanding, honesty, and acceptance—a connection that has grown stronger as the years go by...

Though these sisters of the heart and soul have seen it all, talked through it all, Emma, Rudy, Lee and Isabel will not be prepared for a crisis of astounding proportions that will put their love and courage to the ultimate test."

I have a weakness for books where women are friends and stick together! Not to the detriment of marriage and motherhood but a group of friends that are only strengthened in their roles by their relationships with one another.

I didn't zip through this book like I do so many others. It took me a little longer to read. But it was well worth it. I did skim - skip over one small section where the character was doing something that made me sooo embarrassed for her, I just couldn't bring myself to read it. It just seemed to private. (She was volunteering at a crisis counseling call center.) When a book character embarrasses herself, it's there on the page for everyone to see. At least when I do something stupid - it's not written for the whole world to see!! In other words - YES, I do get very involved with the characters!!

This group started, not as a book club, not a political group and not a feminist organization - just women who liked and respected one another. They thought they could learn something from meeting every so often to talk about issues of interest. They weren't all friends when they started, just acquaintances.  But over they years they became more than just friends.

There are four main characters and Gaffney wrote in a style I really like. Each chapter is seen from a different woman's perspective. I like this. It gives the reader an opportunity to experience the personality of each individual woman. I did make a list of characters at the beginning with a small description of each so until I got really acquainted with each I had a cheat sheet to help! I find myself doing this more and more as I get older!

It's a good book. Very well written and believable. I found myself identifying with one particular character in the book. And yet, I could see a little of myself in all of them.

Patricia Gaffney earned a bachelor’s degree in English and philosophy from Marymount College in Tarrytown, New York, and also studied literature at Royal Holloway College of the University of London, at George Washington University, and at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has been a teacher, a journalist and is an author of several books and novellas.

She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1984 and in January 2012 she celebrated her 28th anniversary as a cancer survivor. How exciting is that!!!

Patricia Gaffney has a web site HERE. Check it out, learn more about her and her books.

 

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