Book Review: Time of My Life

I read this book over a month ago, before Water for Elephants, and LOVED it. It was such an easy read, but so relatable, so well written, so. darn. true. Actually, when I bought it with the other 90 books I purchased, I had a feeling it'd probably be one of my favorites of all time, and I was right, it is. Much of it, I was nodding my head in agreement, as if the writer and character had read my thoughts. I highly recommend this book and hope to read some more novels from Allison Winn Scotch.

Jillian is a wife and stay-at-home-mom who has grown complacent with her life in the suburbs of New York City. She constantly thinks about her former life as an advertising exec, her former love, Jackson, and can't help but ask herself, "What if?" While venting to a massage therapist, he "releases her chi" (I know, kind of corny, but I swear, the book is good) and she suddenly finds herself 7 years in the past, with the ability to rewrite her future. Follow her as she decides whether or not to make it work with Jackson, or stay with her future husband, Henry, and as she decides if she wants to continue climbing the ranks at her job or give up the success and income to be a stay-at-home-mom. In the end, will she be happy with what she chooses, or still have regrets?

Memorable lines that stuck with me:

On friendships: "Meg (her best friend) got lost in the shuffle. Lost in the innocuous way that happens when life piles up. You grab a friend on her cell for two minutes, then promise to call each other back later, but later becomes tomorrow, and tomorrow ebbs into a week, and before you've even realized it, a month has flown by, and you've disengaged yourself from each other's worlds. Which doesn't mean that you don't adore each other, and certainly doesn't mean that when you do catch up that you don't pour out all of the missing details. You do. But for that month or those weeks, you're blind to the nuances that change a person over the course of time, that stack up like dominoes until she's a different person entirely" (pg. 63). -- this describes my relationships beyond perfectly.

On infertility: "'I can't tell you how many times I thought I was pregnant. Crying on the toilet because my period hadn't come or because I'd forgotten to take a pill exactly on the dot- because, you know, that's what the stupid package warns you about- or because of whatever. And Jesus, I remember being so filled with goddamn fear because, well, what the hell do you do if you're 18 and pregnant or 20 and pregnant, and now, I'm 28, and I can't get fucking pregnant, and then when I do, I lose the baby! Jesus, If I knew that it would be so hard to get pregnant, I'd have had a lot more sex'" (pg. 65). -- my fears. My fears exactly. And should those fears become a reality (as I've already been told is highly likely), this paragraph is likely to exit my mouth several times.

On weddings: "And then we both agreed that we wanted the event to be as intimate and non-frenzied as possible. 'Less of a circus, more of a celebration,' he said at the time, and I nodded my head concurring... Did anyone ever look back at a wedding and say, 'Thank God we opted for the cherry swirl in the middle of the cake because without it, it would have been a disastrous evening for all involved!'" (pg. 170).-- again, my sentiments exactly.

On finding happiness in the simply things: "I sink onto the kitchen floor and gaze up at her card, with its lopsided snowflakes and piles of glitter. That is how life should be, I think. Shiny and imperfect but, despite the flaws, still full of promise for the year to come. How did I miss that in the first place?" (pg. 247).

Again, I highly recommend this book. It's an easy read with a wonderful message and I think it's truly relatable for everyone, even if in the tiniest bit.