The Story Of Our Lives | Helen Warner
REVIEWED BY KAREN BYROM
Friendship is tested to the limit in this engrossing read.
Sophie, Amy, Emily and Melissa have been friends since university, and every year in August they meet up for a girls’ getaway where there’s always Prosecco, laughter and a sympathetic ear.
The first year we meet them is 1997, the year Princess Diana died. Sophie is bemoaning her boring relationship with Steve, while Emily copes with the struggles of single parenthood, and Amy despairs of finding lasting love.
Only Melissa never complains – yet the others are too aware that she is living life in the fast lane and is in danger of crashing out.
Their secrets change with time
As the years go by their gripes and confidences change – and of course, not all their secrets are shared. Emily remains tight-lipped about her son’s paternity. Sophie will never reveal the extent of her betrayal of Steve. Amy’s happiness can sometime seem a little forced. Melissa won’t admit to having an addiction problem.
But even though the friends’ dynamics constantly change, their bond endures and they continue to meet. And so we share the highs and lows of their lives as the years roll by and their paths diverge, intertwine and converge again.
Will their friendships pass the test of time?
Relationships move on, promises are made, and broken. But one thing that will never break is their friendship. Or won’t it? If Melissa doesn’t mend her ways she’s in danger of being frozen out by the rest of the group. Sometimes it seems only tough love will work for her.
But in the end, will love, tough or otherwise, save the four women’s precious friendship? For as each discovers, you can forgive almost anything … except perhaps the ultimate betrayal.
The Story Of Our Lives is an engrossing summer read. With sympathetic characters and a fast-paced plot, author Helen Warner catches you up in all its dramas, large and small. Emily, Sophie, Melissa and Amy are all so different, yet each so likeable.
The beauty of this book means the reader could be any, or all of these women … I wonder which each of us would choose to be …?
The story of Our Lives by Helen Warner is published by HQ in paperback, RRP £7.99, and is available from Amazon.
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