Shari Low
My friends don’t necessarily have the expected reaction when I
tell them that I’m writing a new novel. Of course, they’re happy and
supportive, but first they have to get one vital clarification out of the way.
“Please tell me I’m not in it?”
The truth is, they probably are. Not their character as such,
but perhaps a story they’ve told, a conversation they’ve repeated, a drama
they’ve experienced, a laugh that they’ve been unable to control or perhaps
just a word they’ve used to sum up a moment in time.
Without my girlfriends, I’d have so much less to write about.
My husband regularly points out that he didn’t realise that when
he married me, I came with a pack of women parked at my kitchen table, tea (or
wine) in one hand, biscuit in the other. The latter is omitted if we’re on yet
another low-carb diet.
We share secrets, woes, worries, support, gossip, laughs and
sometimes the occasional weep (damn you, sad movies and PMT). I think female
friendships can be the most enduring of all bonds, lasting longer than romances
and marriages, and often stronger than family ties.
Those are the relationships that I wanted to give Shauna in The
Story of Our Life.
The book opens with Shauna revealing that her husband has slept
with another woman. It then goes back in time as she tells us how she fell in
love with Colm at first sight, then moves through the years as we learn about
the twists and turns of their lives together.
Throughout it all, Lulu and Rosie, her closest mates since
childhood, are part of their extended family. Lulu is the wild, unpredictable,
hugely frustrating rebel and Rosie, the sweet, compassionate people-pleaser who
is searching for her happy ending.
Their relationships, however, have their own challenges because
I wanted to write about imperfect people in an imperfect world, and ask the
question, how much are we able to accept and forgive the people we love?
And is there ever a time when you should say goodbye to a lifelong
friend?
I don’t have the answers. At the start of the story, Shauna
doesn’t either.
As for my girlfriends?
I’ll ask them later, when they’re back at the kitchen table.
Shari’s seventeenth novel, The Story Of Our Life, is out now
Oh my goodness. What a roller coaster. Loved the characters in this book. I especially loved the way the story reflected on past events tied into current events. I identified with many of the characters, especially the main character's female friends. I fell in love with the male characters. I laughed at parts and in some parts I could hardly breathe for crying. Very well written. It's one of those books you think about for a few days wondering what the characters are doing now and then remembering, it's a book. Am I the only one who does that? The sign of a fantastic book to me. A must read ........
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