This novel, Count the Ways by Joyce Maynard has everything life can throw at a woman. The setting is between 1970-1980 because the story references Princess Diana and the Challenger rocket exploding. There's death, tragic accidents, marital infidelity, gender dystopia, estrangement, divorce, poverty, success, failure, and more I'm sure. There were chapters that kept me awake reading because I didn't want to stop in the middle of desperation.
Joyce Maynard drew her characters well. Each person is distinct and perfectly characterized. The setting is New Hampshire and Boston. The farmhouse, itself, is a character. This house was really created by Eleanor, the main character. Her stamp is on it, even when she gives it to her "ex". The story even ends with the farmhouse. It sounds like a place you would have liked to grow up in. In fact, Eleanor is the mother you wish you had, or were yourself. She really was a wonderful mother and a good wife until tragedy struck the family. Then the plot twists, taking your heart with it because it twists all the characters.
But life goes on. Children grow up. Love comes and goes and comes and goes. After all, this is real life, not a story. Oh, wait...
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