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Today will be different
259 pages
A hilarious and frantic sprint through a single day of derailed plans, buried secrets, and the messy reality of midlife reinvention.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like riding shotgun in the mind of a brilliantly flawed woman on the verge of a hilarious breakdown. The pace is brisk and frenetic, mirroring the chaotic energy of a single day where every modest plan for self-improvement goes spectacularly off the rails. It balances a wry, self-deprecating tone with genuine, heart-filled warmth, creating an atmosphere that is both deeply anxious and comfortingly relatable. The prose is sharp and observant, perfectly capturing the frantic internal monologue of a mother and wife juggling unexpected family secrets, marital miscommunications, and the ghosts of her past. It will absolutely delight readers who crave witty, literary contemporary fiction about messy motherhood, sisterhood, and the beautiful reality of facing who we used to be.
- Mood
- frenetic
- warm
- anxious
- quirky
- Tone
- wry
- humorous
- self-deprecating
- heartfelt
- chaotic
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- messy motherhood · midlife reinvention · buried family secrets · sisterhood · marital miscommunication
- The writing
- Sharp, witty, and observant, capturing the frantic and funny internal monologue of a woman trying to hold her life together.
- The arc
- Moves from a frantic desire for control and self-improvement through chaotic unraveling, landing on a warm acceptance of one's messy reality.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love sharp, funny contemporary fiction about flawed women navigating the chaotic intersections of marriage, motherhood, and personal identity.
Content notes
- marital deception
- family secrets
About the book
Eleanor knows she's a mess. But today, she will tackle the little things. She will shower and get dressed. She will have her poetry and yoga lessons after dropping off her son, Timby. She won't swear. She will initiate sex with her husband, Joe. But before she can put her modest plan into action, life happens. Today, it turns out, is the day Timby has decided to fake sick to weasel his way into his mother's company. It's also the day Joe has chosen to tell his office -- but not Eleanor -- that he's on vacation. Just when it seems like things can't go more awry, an encounter with a former colleague produces a graphic memoir whose dramatic tale threatens to reveal a buried family secret. A hilarious, heart-filled story about reinvention, sisterhood, and how sometimes it takes facing up to our former selves to truly begin living.
Description from Open Library.
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