Every Man for Herself

by Maryann Reid

Finally, Nina is fed up. Now that she knows for certain that her husband, a pastor of a small congregation that meets in their rural Texas home, has been "borrowing" from the church, Nina is ready to leave him for a new life, in a new town. And since Trent has never been an honest man, leaving him for New York City isn't as hard as she thought. Her quest to reinvent herself leads her down a road full of new experiences...and new men who want to share...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312369093
• ISBN13: 9780312369095
• Release Date: August 2007
• Publisher: Griffin
• Length: 232 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Every man for Herself

It was a bit raw for me taste, but I will say that it is very entertaining. The characters leap off of the pages at you most of the visuals are raw much like the descriptions given.

It's Not Where You're From But Where You're Headed

In Maryann Reid's Every Man for Herself, Nina Bettus Raines is a 25-year old woman who desperately needs to make some changes in her life. Raised in Allswell, Texas by a mother who cared more for her young husband, than her daughter, Nina was raped by her stepfather repeatedly at a young age and later married a selfish and controlling husband. Nina's husband Trent was a sneaky man who posed as a minister, while he secretly stashed away thousands of dollars without Nina knowing and kept a wealthy mistress on the side. Tired of being used and abused, Nina confided in her best friend Dee that it was time for her to leave her husband and move to a drastically different location. Leaving a painful childhood and marriage behind, Nina set her sights on the Big Apple as her new stomping ground. Armed with a new sense of self, and a determination to succeed on her own terms, Nina rents a room from an elderly friend of Dee's, and finds a job as a massage therapist at the newly opened Serenity Spa. Once a shy, country girl, Nina begins to open herself up to meeting new people and doing new things, including having a passionate, short-lived affair with Ahmasi, a Brooklyn poet with a criminal past, and meeting the handsome, charming attorney Lamont, who later proposes to Nina. In between negotiating her divorce from Trent, distancing herself from Ahmasi because he is a crazy, unemployed drug dealer who knew Trent, and trying to work out her new relationship with Lamont Franklin who wants her to be his only woman, Nina comes out shaken but on top as she finally puts her past behind her. The novel's main setting is true to its' description of the downtown Brooklyn area frequented by poets and other artists, which I enjoyed reading about. However, I was a little surprised that at twenty-five years old, Nina, who was not well traveled or educated, was able to: heal from being raped as a child, deal with her mother's verbal and emotional abuse, divorce a husband, move to the toughest city in the world (New York City), meet not one, but two men who want her, and become engaged to a successful attorney (handsome, smart, educated, owns a home, buys gifts, financially stable), all in what seemed like ONE YEAR! Overall, I enjoyed Maryann Reid's style of writing, she mixed so many personas together in this book that you are able to identify with at least a few of them. Every Man for Herself is perhaps a fairy tale which reveals that a young woman who is fearless can attract anyone and everything she wants, no matter where she comes from. DuEwa M. Frazier Rhymes, Views & News Reviews

(3.5 stars) Yesterday's Newspaper

Nina Bettus-Raines of Allswell, Texas, is considered a backward country girl. Nina's young life is overflowing with years of abuse and betrayal from her family. Now 25 years old, she's unhappily married and unable to catch her breath. It seems as if no one is ever interested in Nina's side of the story. In the five years that they've been married, her borrowing, fake-preaching husband Trent is always working some sort of scam...and she's fed up with it. As Nina prays for a solution, her best friend Dee encourages her to finally take a chance on her life. After all, it couldn't get much worse...could it? Now a resident of New York City, Nina becomes gainfully employed, has her own apartment and was making plans to rid herself of her past. That awkward, backward, country girl she used to be was now oozing with self-confidence. While taking in the new sights, Nina meets two different men who both spark different yet powerful emotions inside of her. As Nina gets comfy with both, she soon learns that Allswell, Texas, may not be such a small town after all. Will Nina escape the evil past that threatens to smother her? Every Man For Herself is a great title, but it was packaged a little too neatly in the end for my personal liking. I would've preferred more drama and fewer insinuations. I did like the growth of the main character and based on that fact alone, I'd consider checking out other titles by Maryann Reid in the future. Reviewed by Nardsbaby for Urban Reviews