2019 Readers' Favorite Gold Medal Book Award Winner

#1 Amazon Best-Selling Author

Ever-hopeful Lia thinks she'll be with handsome, brooding Jake forever. Until one day he completely blindsides her and makes her question everything she knows... Lia Townsend is expecting a trip to Hawaii for her fifth wedding anniversary. Instead, her husband, Jake, walks out on her. Out of the blue. Devastated, Lia vows to win back Jake and the perfect life they shared.

Because it was perfect, wasn't it?

As Lia searches for the truth behind Jake's departure, the cracks in the shiny varnish begin to show. And once she uncovers his secret, all that she once knew and believed in crumbles.

Lia's eccentric mother, her best friend, and two vastly different men each pull her in new directions, and Lia attempts to push past the pain and start anew.

But Jake isn't gone for good. When an accident rocks the lives of their best friends, Lia and Jake are thrown together. Will Lia choose to salvage her old life with the man who broke her heart - or was everything they shared an illusion?

"An emotionally compelling story about love, the lies we tell, and new beginnings. I couldn't put it down!" - Robin Bielman, USA Today best-selling author

"Gardner creates a rich portrait of an emotionally mute woman who rediscovers her inner voice." - Kirkus Reviews

"An emotionally charged narrative." - Readers' Favorite, Gold Medal Book Award Winner

"Lia is a brave, human, and affectionate heroine who will inspire and charm readers. An engaging read!" - K.S.R. Burns, best-selling author of The Paris Effect and Paris Ever After

Book club discussion guide included.

I have a literal "where" answer to this question! The spark of the idea came to me while I was on the 405 freeway stuck in traffic. I was letting my mind wander and thought about what would happen if a woman who imagined her marriage was perfect suddenly had the rug ripped out from under her.

I believe a lot of women in their thirties find themselves ignoring their own wishes and desires because they're busy making others happy: their partners, children, parents, friends. This story is about Lia embracing what she wants and needs, what's best for her for the first time in her life. The ending presents a launching pad for Lia rather than a neat conclusion.

I think Lia's in deep denial at the start of this book and only realizes after the fact that she and Jake aren't as perfect as she always told herself they were. The Plan is flawed from the beginning, but she never asks herself if she is happy until everything is taken from her.

Primarily, I love women's fiction, literary fiction, and memoir. But any time spent reading is a good time!

Thanks for reading!