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Joy for Beginners
Joy for Beginners
Author: Erica Bauermeister
Six women gather to celebrate their friend Kate's recovery from cancer.  Wineglass in hand, Kate strikes a bargain with them. To celebrate her new lease on life, she'll do the one thing that's always terrified her: white-water rafting. But if she goes, all of them will also do something they always swore they'd never do -- a...  more »
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ISBN-13: 9780399157127
ISBN-10: 0399157123
Publication Date: 6/9/2011
Pages: 288
Rating:
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 24

3.8 stars, based on 24 ratings
Publisher: Putnam Adult
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

forosure avatar reviewed Joy for Beginners on + 42 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
This book my dear friend recommended for me to read was truly amazing! I have a whole new way of looking at things. This book took you on a series of ventures for six very different women in essense a search of self. They were sent on independent journeys by a friend that concord breast cancer. This book talks little about the 'illness' part more on the friendships and oneself. I connected for a couple of the girls well three to be honest! Kate, the one who had cancer and he new found love of rafting and becoming scared of something she could put her hands on. And that she could do anything after having to deal with cancer kind of like me and GBS. Marion, for her understanding of doing for herself and making herself happy but understanding all along the way. Her search brought her to writing about tattoos and the how's and why's behind them. And lastly Caroline, she had lost something near and dear to her and she had to break it free and be me, I mean herself. This is a must read. I'm so very grateful for this recommendation and I encourage Every Woman out there to read it. My copy of the book is going on my bookshelf and it will be read again and I would like my daughter to read it when she's older.
ErinMc avatar reviewed Joy for Beginners on + 373 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
This book is for EVERY women from 21-91. It is a women story and yet it is many stories. If this one is one your TBR pile put it on the top. If it is on your friends wishlist get them a copy and yourself.
Life is an Adventure. So Get in the the river and paddle.
reviewed Joy for Beginners on + 151 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This book was enthusiastically recommended to me by a very compatible reader-friend, and I can see why. It was well written with rich, warm characterization. Plus, in spite of the potentially serious subject matter, it was light hearted, even funny. And the premise of the book, a women recovering from cancer that issues a specific challenge to each of her close friends, was intriguing.

On the down side, it had one of my least favorite types of structure -- shifting between half a dozen characters' story lines, one per chapter. I'm a little too ADD for that. Plus, when it comes right down to it, I am just not a fan of "women's fiction". If you are, I think this book would probably be a good pick.
reviewed Joy for Beginners on + 1113 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I thought Bauermeister understands contemporary women's lives perfectly! Whether writing about the isolation of a new mother, the determination of a woman fighting cancer, or the joy of a woman hearing the news that she's about to become a grandma, she gets it right. It's a quick read, and some in my book group felt that "nothing happened" and that it was "too happy," but if you like to spend time with a community of women caring for each other, this is a great choice. "The women ranged in age, but they were all old enough to know that in the currency of friendship, empathy is more valuable than accuracy."
Read All 5 Book Reviews of "Joy for Beginners"


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