So, when I received a book recommendation from my 92-year-old grandfather, I was cringing inside. Not because I think he has bad taste; quite the opposite in fact. But, I just wasn’t sure I’d find something interesting in something he felt was such a hit. I recall him telling me the beginning of the book, my inner laughter unstoppable. I was hooked just off his description. Amazon app there I went! An hour later I began reading this semi-romantic comedy/women lit/chick lit. The Ladies’ Room by Carolyn Brown.
While attending the funeral of her great-aunt Gertrude, Trudy overhears a secret in the ladies’ room that will change her life forever.- for the good, the bad, and the ugly. What follows is the adventures of a woman reclaiming her life in ways woman around the world only wish they were brave enough to do.
The new information Trudy must deal with after the bathroom incident isn’t the only thing turning her life in a whirlwind. She has two bitchy jealous cousins to contend with; an obstinate adult daughter who’s just run off to Vegas to marry; a husband who is the most well-known philanderer in her small time that apparently everyone but her knew about; a mother in a nursing home suffering from Alzheimer’s; and now Gertrude’s estate to deal with.
The development of the new-and-improved Trudy character is a riot. There was definitely a smile on my face after reading just about every page. Her wittiness along with the amazing kindness she showed to even those who had wronged her made her a character I’d love to immolate.
In Gertrude’s estate, surprising to her, Trudy is entirety of the estate – which mattered not to the two catty cousins because they didn’t see it as much of an estate anyhow.. Part of that estate is an old Victorian style house (don’t quote me on the house type as that specific detail didn’t stick with me). Other than to say the cousins would rather have died than to have that cluttered, old, beat up house, I won’t go too much in to the estate.
Now, I do have to say that Trudy decides to keep the house and along with the help of her next-door neighbor, Billy Lee Tucker, who she went all through school with, they plan to redo the house and bring it to its formal glory. And with that renovation under action, Trudy renovates her old self as well.
Ladies’ Room is a funny, beautiful book that I’d read again and again. It’s a quick read and a real pick-me-up. I give this book my highest marks, 5 butterflies and hope that all of you will give it a try. And as you can tell from the beginning of my review, it’s not just for women either!