The Ex-Wife's Survival Guide

by Debby Holt

Book Overview

Right before Sarah Stagg's teenage sons leave the nest, her husband, Andrew, the star of their local dramatic club, leaves her for his twentysomething leading lady, Hyacinth. Sarah, a freelance artist, quickly discovers that the path of a discarded wife is strewn with hazards and humiliations. Her neighbors and friends treat her like she has the plague. And her soon-to-be-ex wants to sell the house she's spent years turning into her dream home...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1416513299
• ISBN13: 9781416513292
• Release Date: February 2006
• Publisher: Gallery Books
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

The Ex-Wife's Survival Guide

I really enjoyed this book. I picked it up at Barnes and Noble, because it was on sale and sounded like fun to read. I laughed and laughed and the ending was absolutely delightful. I highly recommend it for someone who likes this kind of book.

Funny, Enjoyable Read

This book jumps right into the lives of some very true to life characters. The writing style was so natural and witty, and I enjoyed reading this story. It was never boring and had unique characters and situations. My only gripe is the cover... the dog that the main character Sarah had at one point was described as looking nothing like this dog on the cover... so it kind of left me wondering who is that person on the cover?

Engaging second chance for romance

Artist Sarah Stagg is dumfounded when Andrew, her husband of over 20 years tells her that he has fallen in love with his much younger leading lady from a community play. He moves out of the family home to shack up with Hyacinth and with the boys about to leave on an extended vacation, Sarah is left alone to pick up the pieces of their broken marriage. She gets dragged into participating in a community production of "Rebecca," which was to star Andrew and Hyacinth, who are keeping a low profile due to the scandal. There she spreads her wings and has to play the lead, and befriends her leading man, Martin, and the two meet for walks with her psychotic donor dog. A week in Majorca brings romance to her life in the form of her former crush from college, Barney. They have a whirlwind courtship, and she makes plans to join him after the play is over. When she returns her friends are surprised, especially Andrew, who's shocked she found someone so quickly, and Martin, who was enjoying their walks and budding friendship. But as Sara soon finds out - life is never predictable. Author Holt packs a lot of humor and creates some really engaging characters, but I thought that she could have expanded a little more on the men in Sarah's life. For the most part, the women were interchangeable - Miriam and Jennifer in particular seemed like the same person after awhile. There were also a few loose ends and questions left unanswered - like the fate of the two traveling sons. Overall, it was a thoroughly engaging story.

Utterly Predictable but Plenty of Fun

It's pretty clear what's going to happen after Sarah's husband dumps her -- she's going to find another guy. That's what always happens in books like this and in fact that's probably why we read them. This book will provide you with an entirely pleasant afternoon on the sofa, turning pages, and you will be rewarded with a satisfying (although not particularly surprising) ending. The writing is solid, with many welcome funny moments, and the story moves quickly. I look forward to her next one.

Terrific and quirky

Forty-three years old artist Sarah Stagg is staggered by her husband of two decades Andrew dumping her for spunky twentyish actress Hyacinth Harrington, whom he met at the local theatre group. Adding to her despondency is his claim that he now knows what true love is though Sarah figures that Andrew's definition is lust. Their twin sons are backpacking in India so Sarah is all alone for the first time in her life. Still Sarah vows to move on though she feels anger and humiliation that Andrew leaves her. Still she turns to painting and refuses to hide from her neighbors attending all the social events in Ambercross. Shockingly she even gets the lead role in the Ambercross Players production of Rebecca where she meets fellow dumpee Martin. When she travels to Majorca for a week of sexual encounters, she is stunned when she gets home by the disapproval of Martin and Andrew. Still she refuses to back down from her pledge to herself to live life to the fullest. The EX-WIFE'S SURVIVAL GUIDE is a terrific quirky depiction of a woman rebounding from her husband abruptly dropping her for a younger, sexier and spicier model. Sarah is an intriguing individual as she goes through the five stages of grief until she realizes that she has a wonderful life of her own. Debby Holt provides a fascinating character study that the audience will appreciate. Harriet Klausner