Doing Good [Mass Market Paperback]

Pamela Morsi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2002

Jane Lofton may have grown up as a nobody, but she doesn't stay one for long. Not once she figures out that hard work, tenacity and blond ambition are a girl's best friend. Of course, having the right husband doesn't hurt either. But being rich and successful is not all it's cracked up to be. Okay, maybe it is -- but life is still tough, dammit.

Jane is so busy rescheduling her next liposuction, shopping for clothes she doesn't need and bragging about her latest real estate sale that she hasn't noticed the callus forming around her heart. Her husband is screwing around on her, and she talks to her daughter through a therapist. No, life is not perfect.

So what should she do? Jane's not sure, but she figures a drive in her "Bimmer" might help her relax. A broken fingernail momentarily diverts her attention, and when she looks up she sees an eighteen-wheeler bearing down on her. Suddenly, Jane's problems become incidental. She barely escapes with her life, but not before she's promised God, and herself, that she is going to "do good" for the rest of her life.

So how come "doing good" is so hard?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Clever and comical at its best and slow-moving and chatty at its worst, Morsi's (Matters of the Heart) first foray into the realm of contemporary women's fiction chronicles the painstaking transformation of 40-something Jane Lofton from narcissistic snob to messianic do-gooder. Jane has everything she thought she ever wanted a filthy rich husband, a successful career as a realtor and a membership to the most exclusive country club in Texas. Even the knowledge that her husband is cheating on her again and her 19-year-old daughter will only speak to her through her therapist doesn't phase her. It isn't until she's nearly killed in a car accident and miraculously saved by Chester Durbin, a frail old man living in an assisted living center, that she realizes how skewed her priorities are. After the accident, Jane embarks on a mission to do good, but her initial attempts (writing checks to charities and helping a young girl find her way back to her mother in a mall) fail miserably. With the help of Chester's sage advice, Jane eventually gets on the right track, weathers the dissolution of her marriage and finds love in the arms of an old school chum, but her journey, though inspirational, is hardly exceptional. Middle-aged working moms may identify with Jane's struggle to trust her daughter, but others will be hard-pressed to find anything redeeming about Morsi's protagonist aside from her desire to do good.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Mira (March 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 155166884X
• ISBN-13: 978-1551668840
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,755,882 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

National bestseller, RWA Hall of Fame member and two-time RITA winner, Pamela Morsi began writing in 1990 creating historical romance novels set in the small towns and farms of the early twentieth century. She was an immediate success garnering awards and accolades from reviewers, readers and peers. In 2000, with a new millennium, she decided to move in the direction of mainstream fiction. Her recent works depict the voices of ordinary people overcoming everyday challenges. Librarian Pamela Morsi once asked herself what she would do if she ever won the lottery. She decided, given the chance, that she would spend her time writing fiction. Now, years later, she is still waiting to win the lottery, but THE BENTLEY'S BUY A BUICK is her twenty-third full-length novel. Pam lives in San Antonio, Texas, with her husband and daughter.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars more fiction than romance, March 28, 2002

By 

"djlong" (Ward, AR USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Doing Good (Mass Market Paperback)

Pamela Morsi has been tied with Lavyrle Spencer as my favorite author ever since reading, GARTERS. She's excellent at making everyday believable charaters that you can care about. This one proves to be the same way. I enjoyed the book, but prefer more of a romance story, like in her previous books.

This story is just what the title states. Jane keeping her promise to God, of "doing good" the rest of her life, if he'd let her live. You get to follow Jane Lofton's growth, in family issues, charity efforts, and new friendships. Jane doesn't actually find romantic love until the last quarter of the book.

This isn't a book I'll be reading again, as I've done with her other books. Pamela Morsi does know how to tell an interesting story though. I'd suggest buying a used copy or checking it out from the library if, like me, you prefer more of a romance. I highly recommend buying some of her other books HEAVEN SENT, COURTING MISS HATTIE, GARTERS & THE LOVE CHARM. I've read all of these several times.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars PAMELA MORSI'S FIRST CONTEMPORARY IS A MUST READ!!, April 29, 2002

By 

Beachreader "BeachReader" (Port Townsend, WA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Doing Good (Mass Market Paperback)

I am a reader of both historical and contemporary romance who has found myself reading even more contemporaries than historicals as of late. I am also a huge fan of Pamela Morsi's (her book GARTERS makes my Top 10 of all time reads). Since I like contemporary novels and really do enjoy first-person narratives, I was happy to see Morsi give this a go. And I wasn't disappointed. I very much enjoyed this foray into Jane's mixed up world, and every much enjoyed Pamela Morsi's foray into contemporary women's fiction. Although there is romance in the book, I would definitely call this book women's fiction as the romance isn't the main focus. Would appeal to fans of Jennifer Crusie, Millie Criswell - both of whom use comedic relief and a great turn of phrase to entertain as well as tell a good story, but think readers who enjoy books by mainstream women's fiction authors such as Barbara Delinsky, Jane Heller, and others will also enjoy DOING GOOD.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easily the most thought-provoking book I've read this year., October 9, 2004

By 

a-wish-upon-a-star (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Doing Good (Mass Market Paperback)

The book starts off with Jane Lafton, a woman who is "doing good" as in quite alright, thank you, who got into a car accident. She is saved with barely a scratch, but her scare got her thinking about her life, and how she wants to change it. With this resolution the heavy gears of change are set into motion, first slowly, then, as gears are wont to do, the changes in her life become much more profound.

This was not the most well-written book I have ever read, there were not a huge amount of fancy prose or spell-binding cliff-hangers, nor was this a romance in the true sense of the word. However, this was definitely a book that challenges you to take a good look at your life, and, even if you think you're "doing pretty good", as Jane Lafton thought of herself, there's always room for a small shift in priorities. I can honestly say that Pamela Morsi made me take a hard look at my own life, not to say I was exactly like that, but thinking through life, and growing, is what life is all about. This book had a tremendous amount of insights that I've never come across before in a book, romance or otherwise, and you can tell that Ms. Morsi really thought through her subject matter very deeply before writing this novel. I've read some other books with similar themes, with the protagonist going through a near-death experience and changing her life, but usually it transforms into a divorce, a career change, etc. Although Jane does go through those things, it is portrayed very differently, as a natural progression of her personal growth rather than a desire to actually change her life. Ms. Morsi also changed my views on divorce - until now I never thought there was such a thing as a GOOD divorce, I always thought that a divorce should be fought no matter what, but this book changed my mind. I am actually quite an opinionated person, and a pretty critical one, too - it takes a good deal to impress me. "Doing Good" impressed me very much.

If you're looking to change your life - even a little bit - you simply can't get a better how-to manual than "Doing Good". Thank you, Pamela Morsi.