Good story about abuse and healing
"Seasons" is a rarity from Constance O'Day-Flannery, as it's a straightforward romance (rather than a time-travel book) starring three sisters. Allie is the oldest; she's tough and strong, but tired of the pretense of her life. Although she looks like she has it all (money, good looks, good clothes, respect), it's all an act. Her husband abused her, and treated her horribly, while he lived. Now that he's dead, how does she learn to trust herself again?

Nancy is the youngest; Allie's husband blackmailed her into having sex with him. And, she has drug problems, and is undergoing rehab for cocaine addiction at the start of this book.

The middle sister's name I can't remember; she has a solid, but unspectacular marriage. Her husband is a nice guy, but isn't paying attention to her. And her kids get on her nerves.

Basically, I bought into this book mainly because of how well Ms. O'Day-Flannery wrote Allie and Nancy. Allie's portrait of a woman trying to re-learn how to live after her bad husband dies is spot-on. She eventually finds a lover, a very good man who treats her well, and starts to enjoy life again.

Nancy's portrait, too, is right on the money, as she's tired, weakened, and ill -- just as any drug addict in rehab would be. As she comes to terms with all she did wrong (her family at the start is alienated, but toward the end has reconciled with her), she learns how to reconnect with herself.

The main weakness was the middle sister's romance. Although I agree that writing about solid marriages isn't considered "sexy" or "in," as it's hard to dredge up conflict between long-term lovers, the things that drove the middle sister away seemed to me to be forced. I couldn't really buy into that; the middle sister's husband has to know his wife better than this, so that all seemed to be horribly contrived (even for the genre).

(I hope I got the names of the sisters right, btw. I remember Nancy very well. Hot-shot corporate lawyer with a major drug problem. The other sisters' names aren't as clear, after all this time. It's been over three years since I read this book.)

This is a memorable story about people who make bad decisions (marrying the wrong man, getting into drugs) and who are abused (the oldest sister's story) going on with their life and finding meaning. I remember most of it very, very well after three years of not reading it; I take this as a good sign.

If you can find this book, you'll almost certainly enjoy it, as it has touches of humor throughout, and very realistic characterizations of the oldest and youngest sisters. Probably Ms. O'Day-Flannery's best book to date.

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