Moving On

Joanna Cantor's novel, Alternative Remedies For Loss, follows 22-year-old New Yorker Olivia Harris as she contends with her close-knit family and decides to make a film to honor her mother, Eleanor, after she dies of cancer. Olivia uses her brother Alec's connections to get an entry-level job at a Manhattan production company. There, she meets and get involved with Michel Zahavi, a client 16 years her senior. While Olivia treats the relationship as a temporary situation to help her cope with her loss, Michel appears to be more attached. Meanwhile, Olivia and her brothers are aghast that their father brings his new girlfriend on a family trip to India a few months after Eleanor's death. After the trip, while sorting through Eleanor's things, Olivia discovers some curious notes signed by "F" that lead her on a journey back to India to find out the truth about who F is.

Moving Forward

What happens when you have lost everything? That’s what happens to Diane, a shopkeeper in Paris. She runs a literary café with her loving, but flighty friend Felix. Life is wonderful when a sudden accident claims the lives of Diane’s husband and her young daughter. She is completely lost. After a year of grieving she decides to go to Ireland. Maybe a change will do her some good.  Happy People Read and Drink Coffee by Agnes Martin-Lugand is a story about coming back to life. The characters are sensitive and familiar. The good news is that a sequel is coming out next year. DB

Book Discussion

Join us for Book Discussion on Thursday, April 10th at 6:30pm.  We'll be discussing Wild by Cheryl Strayed.  After the death of her mother, Strayed finds herself falling deeper and deeper into a self-destructive, downward spiral.  Inspired by a book about the Pacific Crest Trail, she impulsively decides to hike from California to Washington in order to combat her demons.  HM