As Good as It Got

by Isabel Sharpe

Book Overview

Ann Redding has taken every lousy thing life has thrown at her and handled it very well, thank you very much. All she wants is to get her life back on track...but that won't happen till she makes her worried family and friends back off by spending two weeks at Camp Kinsonu, a retreat for suddenly single women. Now she's stuck sitting around a campfire, singing I Am Woman with a bunch of sandal-clad, makeup-boycotting women. If she doesn't get out...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0061140562
• ISBN13: 9780061140563
• Release Date: June 2008
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Isabel Sharpe is a writer to watch for

The coast of Maine is the setting for a special camp for women who find themselves suddenly single. The ways of becoming single are varied, and inconsequential. There are many things women share when left in the same predicament. The road that led them to their current circumstance isn't important. Beginning recovery and learning to heal are just a few of the benefits of attending Camp Kinsonu, a Passamaquoddy word for `she is strong.' As long as she overlooked the evidence to the contrary, Cindy had a perfect marriage. Her trip to camp comes about when she can't overlook another woman's lingerie in her bedroom. Ann thoroughly trusted her husband. His real estate business had done well and, talking of having homes in Aspen and Tuscany, he retired early. Now she's alone. Martha has waited years for her true love. They dated openly in college, but he needed a rich wife for his life in politics. Martha understood. For two decades she had stood by him as his much-beloved mistress. A stroke just as he was expected to become governor sends Martha to this camp. These women, as well as a few others, will take classes, some elective and others mandatory. Their interactions with each other, counselors and staff bring them to life. One staffer in particular, a man named Patrick, is a mystery to the women. He is so helpful, peaceful, friendly, gorgeous, and untouchable. All of the women are suddenly single, and here is a man who could help them heal in so many ways. If only he were heterosexual. Author Sharpe writes real life. Anyone who has ever been let down, hurt or abandoned by someone they loved will identify with at least one character. The reading is quick and the telling, fun. While the ending is a bit predictable, there was no disappointment on my part. Isabel Sharpe is an author you'll want to keep on the list of those you watch for in the bookstore. Armchair Interviews agrees.

Elements of all women in the featured characters

As a recently divorced woman in my 40's, I would have enjoyed this even if I wasn't already a big fan of Isabel Sharpe. What I liked most was seeing elements of my situation and even elements of my friends in happy marriages portrayed in this book and/or referred to in the story. I like a book that hits home often and is well written, and this one is. I liked the 'gaps' indicated by another reviewer. None of us knows every piece of someone else's life, and I thought it was realistic that these women came to the camp not only holding their personal situations like shields before them, but they also made huge and incorrect assumptions about everyone else. Another indicator that when we are in great pain, we often cannot believe anyone else is also going through a lot (or more) than we are. Finally, it tickles me that the hunky fisher dude is Clive, so I can envision the magnificent Clive Owen playing him in the movie version. Thank you, always, for feeding my rich fantasy life, Isabel!!

Great book for women

I picked this book up primarily because I liked the Corgi on the cover and because the story of three women trying to get over the loss of their husbands/long love affair in their mid 40's made me want to read it. They all seem to be on the brink of a nervous breakdown but find paths to happiness and acceptance of their lives. At first it really made me sad to read about such suffering but the writer was able to really describe these characters and they really come through on the pages. There is a character named Patrick who is really not what he seems and he adds a lot to the story. I think my sisters and friends would enjoy this book as well. So while it's not a happy story it's a good read and it is absorbing.

interesting character study

After two decades of marriage, Cindy loves being in love with her philandering husband, Kevin; thus when he informs her he is leaving her for Patty, she is devastated. Ann thought her life with Paul was perfect, but his death and losing her job awakens to near bankruptcy. Martha has loved Eldon for two decades, but when he suffers a paralyzing stroke, she can no longer see her beloved as the mistress has no rights. These three single women meet at Camp Kinsonu in Maine, a place designed around the lyrics of I am Woman and I Will Survive. As the counselors try to help the trio, Cindy, Ann and Martha needs to move on, but none seem capable of doing so. AS GOOD AS IT GOT is an interesting character study that digs deep inside the souls of three women whose reasons for living had been totally based on the respective man in their lives. Fascinatingly, each has come to the camp to rediscover who they are having lost their identity to their supportive role. Although the men come across as rats, this is a strong sharp tale that focuses on females recovering from dead relationships in which they were the losing party. Harriet Klausner