This book was insightful and also unsettling. One day, at 53 years old, Rebecca has the realization that she turned into the wrong person. She tries to find out who she would have been if she hadn't quit college and eloped at 20 years old. She feels she has outlived her purpose, and has become superfluous.
Eventually she comes to accept, as her 100 year old Uncle Poppy points out, "there is no true life. Your true life is the one you end up with,whatever it may be. You just do the best you can with what you've got."
The most inspiring passage come during Poppy's 100th birthday. He describes, in agonizing detail, everything about his day. From the beauty of the sunshine on his bedspread, to the taste of his waffles, the texture of his pbj sandwich, and the trickle of the icing on his cake, it is a meditation on mindfulness. It brings Rebecca to the realization that "there were still so many happening s yet to be hoped for in her life." ( )

I hope she marries Jen. 12:03:24

The writing was... not good. ( )

What if? That is the theme of this book. What if, thought Rebecca Davitch, I had not married Joe? She was almost set to marry handsome Will Allenby. Her mother and Will's mother were counting on it. But she became completely taken to Joe and married him without a question, thereby jilting Will. Joe was considerably older than her and left her with three stepdaughters to raise.

Rebecca thought of herself as shy and retiring but had to come out of her shell to save the party-giving family business. At a picnic that she gave for her daughter, Patch says that No No's future husband and stepson introduce them to the family, and then she has a revelation. All these years, she had never been herself She never thought that she fit into the Davitch family. Her eldest daughter was dismayed at No No for marrying into a ready-made family. Rebecca thought to herself, that is exactly what I did!
Rebecca has the chance to be back with Will Allenby. She also has been living with and caring for the oldest member of the Davich family, Poppy who was her husband's uncle. All that he talked about is the party for his 100th birthday, he decided it was time to tell Rebecca about it. About 100 guests, nothing to eat but sweets and a big cake!

You will love this funny family with big problems and Rebecca will learn a lot about herself during this book. Enjoy! ( )

Aunque las patas de gallo ya crezcan junto a sus hermosos ojos, aunque decenas de familiares -hijas, hijastras, nietos y tíos- aseguren que ya no queda tiempo para emprender un nuevo camino, Rebecca se resiste a convertirse para siempre en una persona que no es ella. Ya no le basta con reinventar la cocina tradicional en su salón de banquetes o cuidar de niños que nunca la llamarán abuela. Rebecca necesita adueñarse de su futuro. Y retoma los estudios que abandonó el día de su matrimonio, se apunta a un gimnasio, compra ropa interior de seda, se atreve a descolgar el teléfono y a marcar un número que creía olvidado. Anne Tyler, ganadora del Premio Pulitzer y legítima heredera de la gran tradición de narradores sureños norteamericanos, nos habla en esta novela sobre el valor de los recuerdos y el inmenso coraje que se precisa para volver a escribir toda una vida.