shoe addicts Anonymous
Book Review

Review by Queenie D

shoe addicts Anonymous BOOK SYNOPSIS

Lorna's got a problem. Which she can't control. She works overtime to fund this habit. And she just can't seem to stop.

She's a shoe addict!

When her financial troubles get just too big to ignore any longer, Lorna realizes it's time to make a change. Credit counseling and budgeting - here she comes.

But she still needs shoes! This leads her to create a new group in Bethesda, Maryland - Shoe Addicts Anonymous. Women with a passion for shoes, and a size 7 and ½ foot, are invited to join and trade!

Enter Helene, Sandra, and Joss. Three women with problems of their own but all with a common bond - a love for shoes (and just one of them might possibly be a shoe faker!). From agoraphobia, cheating husbands, and the scandals of the filthy rich, these four women bond together over their shoes. The friendship becomes much more than that as they work to help each other find solutions to very real problems.

The end result is one none of them could possibly have imagined. Their love for shoes turns into a profitable business venture which changes their lives.

QUEENIE D SAYS

Shoe Lovers Get Ready!

Four women who bond over a pair of Maglis (or Prada, Emilio Puccis, Lemers, or Marc Jacobs) end up becoming each other's best confidantes. When I first got the book I thought it was going to be more of a Bridget Jones Diary - silly, romantic, happy ending. And don't get me wrong - this book is silly, it's fun, it's romantic at times, and it does have a happy ending. The difference? Well, these women are suffering from real problems.

Lorna's got serious financial trouble. Helene's got an unhappy marriage resulting in a cheating husband. Sandra is totally insecure over her weight and is agoraphobic because of it. Joss wants a bigger life than that of a small town girl but is being held down by the people she serves. I could identify with a small part of each of these women either personally or through someone else I know. That's the true hidden success of the story - it has the ability to reach out to many different women in many different circumstances.

While it may seem that there are plenty of books out there about foursomes, Harbison does it differently. She is witty, at times a little racy, and certainly down to earth. It's wonderful to read a book about friends and actually feel like these women could be your own friends! I was sad when the book ended and equally excited to learn that there is more to come - Secrets of a Shoe Addict is on it's way to the stores!

Think Sex and the City meets The First Wives Club and you've got the outrageous, endearing shoe addicts Anonymous girls!

shoe addicts Anonymous DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Which of the addicts was your favorite and why?

Do you think a person suffering from agoraphobia could heal herself that easily?

The theme of a woman deceiving her husband over the issue of pregnancy is very prevalent in this book. What are your thoughts about this as a moral issue?