A high-spirited novel from the bestselling author of Must Love Dogs and Life’s a Beach that will have you planning a girlfriend getaway in no time!
Just when Jill Murray’s finally figured out how to manage on her own, her ex-husband proves that he can’t even run away reliably. After seven long years missing in action, he’s back—crashing into the man-free existence Jill and her ten-year-old daughter have built so carefully. And what’s a good mother to do To a child, even a deadbeat dad is better than no dad at all.
Jill’s life just hasn’t turned out quite the way she planned. By now, she’d hoped to be jetting around the world as a high-end cultural coach. Instead, she’s answering phones for a local travel agency and teaching cooking classes at the community center.
Enter free-spirited entrepreneur Billy, who hires Jill as a consultant for an upcoming business trip. Is their relationship veering off in a new direction And what about her ex Jill couldn’t possibly still have feelings for him . . . could she? Suddenly, her no-boys-allowed life is anything but.
They say that every seven years you become a completely new person, but Jill isn’t sure she’s ready for the big change. It takes a Costa Rican getaway to help her make a choice—not so much between the two men in her life, but between the woman she is and the one she wants to be.
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When her husband, Seth, has an early and unique midlife crisis and leaves to join the Peace Corps, Jill is left alone to raise her three-year-old daughter, Anastasia. After she's struggled to get by for seven years, Seth returns. He claims that he left a life they hadn't planned for, but is now ready to pick up where they left off and try again. In her latest, Cook (The Wildwater Walking Club, 2009) writes another endearing story of moving on and starting over. Jill must address the anger she has so long repressed, and at the same time help her daughter incorporate the father she never knew—but desperately needs—into her life. Jill copes with the help of a cast of witty and wise friends, including her boss (and best friend), Joni. Cook tells this involving story of forgiveness and acceptance with heart, charm, and characters you can't help but root for, despite the mistakes they make. --Claire Orphan
After a lifetime of fear and procrastination and sixteen years as a teacher, I wrote my first novel in my minivan at 45. At 50, I walked the red carpet at the Hollywood premiere of the adaptation of my second novel, MUST LOVE DOGS. I'm now the bestselling author of nine novels, including WALLFLOWER IN BLOOM, with a tenth, TIME FLIES, coming from Touchstone in June. Midlife rocks!
Visit ClaireCook.com, where you can stay in the loop for fun giveaways, read excerpts of all my novels and find book club questions. And make sure you check out my writing and reinvention pages, where I share everything I've learned so far.
Come hang out with me on my Facebook author page, too: Facebook.com/ClaireCookauthorpage.
And follow me at Twitter.com/ClaireCookwrite and Pinterest.com/ClaireCookwrite. I'll follow you back!
I've been a judge for the Family Circle magazine fiction contest, a finalist and a judge for the Thurber Prize for American Humor, and the Beach Read Festival fiction and grand prize winner. I've spoken at the Tennessee Williams Literary Festival, Cape Cod Writers Center, the California Women's Conference, and given keynotes at the Dress for Success International Conference, the Missouri Writers Guild Conference, and the Amelia Island Book Festival.
"The exuberant and charming Claire Cook is one of the sassiest and funniest creators of contemporary women's fiction," according to The Times-Picayune. People Magazine says her writing "goes down as easy as it sounds," Good Housekeeping calls it "laugh-out-loud," Redbook "gleefully quirky" and the Chicago Tribune "funny and pitch perfect." The Today Show featured Claire as a "Today's Woman."
I was born in Virginia, and lived for many years in Scituate, Massachusetts, a beach town between Boston and Cape Cod. My husband and I have recently moved to the suburbs of Atlanta to be closer to family. Check out the events page at ClaireCook.com to see when I'll be coming to an event near you - I'd love to meet you!
Claire Cook has crafted another winner. With her trademark wit and tenderness, she sweeps us into the topsy-turvy life of Jill Murray, a feisty single mom trying to stitch together a future after she and her little girl, Anastasia, are abandoned by her husband. SEVEN YEAR SWITCH explores love, loss, anger, recovery, and the surprising events that healed the hearts of a young mother and her daughter.
The characters are fully developed, and each has endearing quirks, fobiles, and very real (sometimes delightfully convoluted) emotions. From page one to the end, I cheered for Jill the entire way.
As a journalist I'm lucky to get advance copies of books, and always look forward to getting Claire Cook's newest tome. I receive and read a lot of books, but I have to say "Seven Year Switch" was one of the few of late I hadn't been able to wait to get to every night when I crawled into bed. I have very much enjoyed all of Cook's books, but there was a level of depth and realism in this story of single mom, Jill, that pulled me in from page one. Of course there was the humor Cook is known for, but Jill's life isn't easy, and we get to experience the tough choices she has to make right along with her. Claire Cook has the talent to move a reader while also making them laugh. Folks who already fans of Cook's will love it, and I think this one may herald in lots of new readers as well.
I started reading and never stopped till I was finished. I simply couldn't put this book down. The characters are thoroughly convincing and the story zipped along. Lots of laughs, but also great food for thought. Jill was my favorite character, but I thought her daughter Anastasia was well drawn, and her neighbor Cynthia was a hoot and oh, so recognizable. Loved Joni and also loved that none of the characters was black and white. I am a Claire Cook fan and respect that she never lets her readers down but works hard and keeps getting better. Don't miss this one.
