Featured Reading Guide
Lolly Winston
36-year-old Sophie Stanton has lost her young husband to cancer. In an age where women are expected to be high-achievers, Sophie desperately wants to be a good widow – a graceful, composed Jackie Kennedy kind of widow. Alas, Sophie is more of a Jack Daniels kind. Guzzling cartons of ice-cream for breakfast, breaking down in the frozen food aisle of her local supermarket, showing up to work in her bathrobe and bunny slippers – soon she’s not only lost her husband, but her job and her waistline. With nowhere to go but up, Sophie leaves California for Oregon and after several false starts opens her…
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Lolly Winston is a freelance journalist. Her work has appeared in Redbook, Ladies Home Journal, Glamour, and many others. She lives with her husband in California.
topAbout the Book
36-year-old Sophie Stanton has lost her young husband to cancer. In an age where women are expected to be high-achievers, Sophie desperately wants to be a good widow – a graceful, composed Jackie Kennedy kind of widow. Alas, Sophie is more of a Jack Daniels kind. Guzzling cartons of ice-cream for breakfast, breaking down in the frozen food aisle of her local supermarket, showing up to work in her bathrobe and bunny slippers – soon she’s not only lost her husband, but her job and her waistline. With nowhere to go but up, Sophie leaves California for Oregon and after several false starts opens her own fabulous bakery. Juggling the success of the bakery, her friends and her new life, Sophie proves that with enough humour and chutzpah it is possible to have life after loss. And falling in love again is all she needs…
topStarting Points for Discussion
- In the U.S. this novel is entitled Good Grief. Do you think this is a better title? And do titles affect whether or not you choose to read a book?
- What do you think about Lolly Winston’s ten stages of grief? Do you think that they could ever apply in real life?
- How did you feel when you read the section where Sophie turns up for work in her dressing gown and slippers? Do you think this is meant to be funny or sad or both?
- ‘Then the cancer came back, this time as a tumour in Ethan’s chest. It was the home wreaker that stole my husband. I almost wished it had been another woman – a slutty thing in a miniskirt whose tires I could have slashed.’ (page 15) Part of Sophie’s grief seems to be for Ethan, for the mid-life crisis he never had – one similar to Mark leaving Ruth for Missy. So her loss is not the only part of her grief. What else does it involve?
- There seems to be a strong theme of unconventional mother/daughter relationships within the book – Sophie and Crystal, Marion and Sophie etc. How would the book have been different if Marion had been Sophie’s own mother rather than Ethan’s or if Ethan and Sophie had had a baby?
- ‘I smell toast burning downstairs. At least I hope it’s toast. Last week Marion stuffed a glove in the toaster.’ (page 368) How much do you think Sophie is joking here? And what do you (and your group) think about the tone with which the author handles serious subjects?
Other Books by Lolly Winston
Happiness Sold Separately
Elinor Mackey has lived her life in perfect order: college, law school, suc…
Suggested Further Reading
- Never Change ~ Elizabeth Berg
- Little Earthquakes ~ Jennifer Weiner
- Big Stone Gap trilogy ~ Adriana Trigiani
- The Bell Jar ~ Sylvia Plath
- The Noonday Demon ~ Andrew Soloman