ESCAPE
BY BARBARA DELINSKY
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Emily Aulenbach is 32, a lawyer married to a lawyer, living and working in Manhattan. An idealist, she had once dreamed of representing victims of corporate abuse, and signed on with a firm that promised this, but it hasn't worked out. She spends her days in a cubicle, surrounded by lawyers in other cubicles, talking on the phone with people sickened by tainted bottled water. Her firm is being paid by the bottler to minimize claims.
Convinced that she is betraying her dreams, she has looked into changing firms, but no one is hiring. She wakes up each morning dreading her work.
Convinced that she is betraying her dreams, she has looked into changing firms, but no one is hiring. She wakes up each morning dreading her work.
And it isn't only work. It's her sister, her friends, even her husband James, with whom she doesn't connect the way she used to. Her relationships are superficial and rushed. She connects to three things - her computer, her BlackBerry, and her watch.
One particularly difficult Friday, she realizes that her life is all wrong. Uncharacteristically acting on impulse, she leaves work early, goes home, packs her bag, and takes off. As she gropes toward the future, though, she finds herself going back - back to the small New Hampshire town where she had last been unequivocally happy and carefree. If she were to map out her life, this was the spot where she had made her first wrong turn.
Escape is the story of the dreams we have and the heart-breaking task of giving up the parts that don't work, salvaging those that do, and creating new dreams for what lies ahead.
One particularly difficult Friday, she realizes that her life is all wrong. Uncharacteristically acting on impulse, she leaves work early, goes home, packs her bag, and takes off. As she gropes toward the future, though, she finds herself going back - back to the small New Hampshire town where she had last been unequivocally happy and carefree. If she were to map out her life, this was the spot where she had made her first wrong turn.
Escape is the story of the dreams we have and the heart-breaking task of giving up the parts that don't work, salvaging those that do, and creating new dreams for what lies ahead.
BARBARA DELINSKY is the author of more than seventeen bestselling novels with over twenty million copies in print. She has been published in twenty-five languages worldwide. Barbara lives with her family in New England.
Barbara Delinsky can be found online here:
Website: http://www.barbaradelinsky.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bdelinsky
"Delinsky nails it in her trademark latest, a captivating and moving story about a woman who's had enough of her life and wants a fresh start. . . . [She] keeps the story moving with some nice twists on a familiar plot, rich characterizations, and real-feeling dilemmas that will keep readers hooked."
—Publishers Weekly
"Our literary editor recommends Escape, by Barbara Delinsky."
---Good Housekeeping
"This thought-provoking book will be popular summer reading."
---Library Journal
“Barbara Delinsky knows the human heart and its immense capacity to love and believe.”
—Washington Observer-Reporter
"This thought-provoking book will be popular summer reading."
---Library Journal
“Barbara Delinsky knows the human heart and its immense capacity to love and believe.”
—Washington Observer-Reporter
“Delinsky may be as adept at chronicling contemporary life in New England as any writer this side of John Updike.”
—Times Union
—Times Union
—Flint Journal
MY REVIEW/THOUGHTS:
Barbara Delinsky once again demonstrates why she continues to be the best-selling author she is with her latest novel, ESCAPE. This is the story of a young woman who just can’t find fulfillment in any part of her life. Emily Aulenbach is the 30 year old lawyer who should be on cloud nine working in an exciting city like Manhattan and married to another successful lawyer. They have a busy professional and personal life which includes many friends and a supportive family who also should add to her contentment. Her sister is getting married soon and Emily is in the midst of helping with the wedding and yet, Emily is anything but happy. All she can think about is the job that isn‘t what she had dreamed of, a marriage where she seems to be going through the paces with little passion, and a social life that lacks all the elements she desires. Thus, we find Emily searching for a way out so that she can experience the thrills that life and the right person should offer.
The theme is a familiar one many of us have read about in one form or another. And so that brings me back to just what makes Barbara Delinsky’s treatment of what might appear to be such a tried and true format still produce, once again, such a successful novel? That is where the huge talent of Delinsky makes the difference. Her multifaceted characters have lives that connect with each other as their layers peel away. As the story twists and turns and takes readers to surprising places, the success becomes evident in this distinctive and delicious read.
Almost from the start, when Emily leaves work one day with no word to anyone and only a quickly packed bag, doing what she feels like she wants to do instead of following her normally programmed life, the novel takes off. Emily heads of to a town in New Hampshire where she spent a defining summer during college to return to some unfinished business, she hopes. Perhaps this is where she will clarify what she really wants in her life and how to get it. She may even discover why Jude keeps creeping into her thoughts. Jude was her best friend Vicki’s brother and Emily’s relationship with him is one she can’t shake despite the love she truly feels for her husband. Perhaps this may even answer the question of why her efforts to conceive a child have been so futile. But wherever Emily’s ESCAPE takes her, be sure that this is one book that will have you turning pages to find the answers right along with the main character.
GIVEAWAY
THANKS TO JENNIFER AND THE
GREAT FOLKS AT RANDOM HOUSE,
I HAVE ONE COPY OF THIS AMAZING
BOOK, ESCAPE, TO GIVE AWAY
--U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES
---INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
IN CASE YOU WIN!
--ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE TO
COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!
HOW TO ENTER:
+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG AND/OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND COME BACK HERE AND LEAVE ME YOUR LINK
+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FIND INTERESTING AT BARBARA DELINSKY'S WEBSITE HERE
--U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES
---INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
IN CASE YOU WIN!
--ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE TO
COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!
HOW TO ENTER:
+1 ENTRY: COMMENT ON WHAT YOU THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT YOU READ ABOVE ABOUT ESCAPE THAT MADE YOU WANT TO WIN THIS BOOK, AND DON'T FORGET YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG AND/OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND COME BACK HERE AND LEAVE ME YOUR LINK
+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FIND INTERESTING AT BARBARA DELINSKY'S WEBSITE HERE
+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON ONE WAY THAT YOU FOLLOW MY BLOG. IF YOU FOLLOW MORE THAN ONE WAY, YOU MAY COMMENT SEPARATELY TO RECEIVE EXTRA ENTRIES
GIVEAWAY ENDS AT
6 PM, EST, SEPTEMBER 6
GOOD LUCK!
