The Woman He Married: A Review

Let me start of by saying that I had a huge advantage coming into this world in that I was born to a mother with three younger sisters, most of them teenagers, when I, the sole niece, arrived.  This means that I got the doting attention of three beautiful aunts my whole childhood.  To say that my aunts mean something to me would be an understatement.  In my formative years I would sit in whatever room all the women had congregated in, leaving the little kids to play by themselves.  I much preferred being in their midst and taking in whatever rousing conversation was happening than playing in the backyard with my cousins.  Their thoughts and opinions have shaped who I am today, and so when my aunt Julie asked if I would read her novel and post a review, I was flattered.  I only pray that I can do justice to the complete art that is writing a novel, this being something that seems so miraculous to me.

The Woman He Married, by Julie Ford: A Review

My thoughts of late have been running along the lines of what femininity means to me and how I want to live my life as a woman.  It has been weighing heavily on my mind since I've had my baby girl and I can only assume the two are tied.  The story of Josie McClain has furthered my own self-discovery and made me think and reflect.  Josie is a beautiful intelligent mother and wife who stays home and takes care of her children while her husband, John, works around the clock in a high pressure job.  While Josie is smart and passionate, she seems to have become complacent about some of the things that matter most.  Josie and John have what looks like the perfect life, home, family, cars (minivan;)) but when questions about John's fidelity arise, Josie is forced to not only take a hard look at her marriage and herself, but an even harder look at what it is she values in this life and how to make those things matter in such a way that she will fight to have them.

While this journey is often one filled with pain for Josie, you are taking this journey along with her as the reader, and at times I was so very distraught for her.  Josie is, while not someone I completely identified with in the beginning, someone I cared for and was rooting for.   My eyes raced through the pages when, just as I would think I knew Josie, something else, a deeper layer, was revealed about her and made me want to know even more.  For me there were so many emotions to this book, so many moments each yielding something separate and meaningful.  Some were funny, some sad and painful, some uncomfortable and still some tender.  When Josie thought or spoke of her children, I could feel her character resonating with the mother in me and I felt connected, the way all of us who love a chubby cheeked baby or a knee-skinned child are all connected.

Gripped in the beginning, somewhere in the middle I became concerned as to where exactly this would lead me and Josie.  I became concerned with the decisions that where in front of her and what it was she valued.  In the end, I was completely satisfied with not only the conclusions Josie had come to, but the lessons and meaning of "wife" and "mother" that I had pondered along with Josie.  This book holds meaning for me.  Josie's story and personal epiphanies have made my own mind wrap around new and worthwhile thoughts on marriage and motherhood.  And being a new and sometimes overwhelmed mom to a one-year old, worthwhile and meaningful are two things that make my soul happy and content.

This is Julie, my aunt (see, told you she was pretty).  She is an author, wife and mother who lives way too far away from me in Nashville, TN.  

Okay, now for the fun stuff.  You can enter the contest and win a signed copy of the book plus a $50 Barnes and Noble gift card by leaving a comment here (I just love comments:)).  You can increase your chances of winning by visiting Julie's blog, Queries2Reveiws.wordpress.com, everyday to get the link for the next reveiw, click on other reviewers blogs and leave comments.  Everyday there will be a new link for that day's review.  


A winner will be announced the 20th on Julie's blog.  For a second chance to win, a follow-up contest is already underway.  Check our her blog for details.