Review: The Year We Turned Forty by Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke

Jessie adores her son, despite the fact that the affair that resulted in his conception ruined her marriage. Gabriela is a well-known author, now frustrated that she wasted her peak fertility years writing books instead of raising a family. Claire is the one that seems happiest; she's recently engaged and her daughter, Emily, has survived a tumultuous adolescence and is now a responsible twenty-two year old woman.  Claire's one regret, however, is the time she missed with her mother before she died of cancer.

To celebrate this momentous birthday,  the trio of best friends plan a girls weekend in Las Vegas.  There, they are given an opportunity to repeat the year they turned forty, a chance to right the wrongs in their life.  At the end of that year, they must decide their fate: do they return to their "original" lives or do they remain?

I’m not too far from celebrating my fortieth birthday.  We all look back on the lives we’ve made for ourselves, questioning our decisions.  Would we take the chance, if given, to alter the decisions we’ve made?  This is something I definitely had in the back of my mind as I watched these three women attempt to change the fate dealt not only to them, but their loved ones around them.

This novel really hit home for me.  I had my oldest son, now sixteen, in my early twenties. My now husband and I didn’t rush to marry; we didn’t want a baby to force us into a decision we weren’t ready to make. We waited until we were ready, and married when our oldest was almost two years old. Would I change that? Never. Sure, it forced me to grow up faster than I may have wanted at the time, but it forced me to become a strong, independent, woman.  Yes, the early years were difficult, but they brought my husband and I closer together, forcing us to deal with the difficult things early in our relationship, overcoming them, and growing together.

So, if given the chance, would I go back and change my life? If I would have waited to get married, to have children, I know I wouldn’t be the woman I am now. One of the characters mentions finding happiness in what you already have.  This is certainly one of my philosophies in life; I’m tremendously blessed to have a wonderfully supportive husband and two great boys. Going back to that year that played a key role in my fate would erase them from my lives, an act I’m not prepared to make.

This is definitely a novel that will hit home for many.  While we aren’t given the opportunity to go back in time and alter our futures, we do have the power to change the direction of our lives, to have a say in our future.  This is the thought that I was left with upon finishing this book.  While I might not agree with the decisions these three women made, this book didn’t make me think about the opportunities I may have missed, but instead the gifts and treasures I have been given. Highly recommended.