From Redbook’s Red-Hot Read series, a short story by the New York Times #1 best-selling author of In Her Shoes and Fly Away Home

“My life is over,” Piper DeWitt thinks to herself, awaiting departure in the overcrowded International Terminal of the Philadelphia airport for an overseas business trip, to romantic Paris no less. She watched as her husband, Tosh, put his own suitcase into the trunk of a taxi the day before. He’d been telling her for months that he wasn’t happy, and though she still wants to believe it is just a phase, after a call to her mother from the Admiral’s Club, she can no longer deny that he’s left her, left their home, left their four-year-old daughter in her mother’s sole care.

Piper met Tosh when she was only twenty-two, just the way self help books said she would – when she wasn’t looking. Now at forty, she wonders how, through all those years, they’d gotten to this place in their marriage. When her flight is canceled due to volcanic ash spreading from Iceland across Europe, and when a handsome stranger offers her an invitation to share a cab, she realizes she can take a departure from her own life. And after a day of living like a tourist in her own city, she hopes she can still find her way home…

Piper lives in a world of her own. Business trips that often take her around the globe with a successful business and small family at home to welcome her upon her return. At least that’s how she views it. Unfortunately, she hasn’t yet acknowlegded the fact that her husband has been sleeping on the couch for close to a month and recently mentioned to her his lack of interest in their relationship. It’s not until a scheduled trip to Paris and an “unexpected” announcement from her husband, Tosh, that he won’t be their when she gets back this time, that she finally begins to unravel a bit.

This was an extremely fun read. Incredibly quick. I recently discovered it when browsing my Nook library and found the short stories of many of my favorite Chick Lit authors. For me it was a great getaway for 30 minutes and an affordable one at that. Be that as it may, I do wish the story was just a tad bit longer. Towards the end I felt myself wishing that it was going to keep going so that I could discover just what was going to happen to Piper, Tosh and Nola (their young daughter). So, in that respect, it was lacking just a bit.

What I did find interesting was what I found after reading the story. I started researching to see if maybe perhaps there would be more? Perhaps this was just a “teaser” with the full book to come. What I discovered was that it was actually a story that had been serialized in Redbook Magazine, which also explained the brevity of it. Kind of a neat idea I think, but I’m still hoping that she might decide to expand on the story to make it into a full fledged novel. I’m positive I’d love it!

A quick read that will hook readers and have them wishing it was just a tad bit longer. I immediately fell in love with each of the characters of The Half Life, from Piper to Nola to Tosh and even the random encounter with Mark from the airport. Jennifer Weiner has a knack for knowing how to write people in such a way that makes you want to get to know them even better. This is the perfect afternoon read when you just need a little bit of Chick Lit to pick you up!

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