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The Women’s Center

A Novel

Award-winning journalist Michele Fitzpatrick’s engaging debut novel introduces four unlikely heroines in their fifties who navigate extraordinary challenges as ordinary people do: rarely smoothly, often treading water, sometimes barely afloat.

Ruth Fortune is a trustworthy CEO who trusts no one, ever. Artist Pat Conelli considers her seven children her masterpieces but wonders where she mislaid herself. June Magee is a master craftswoman who can’t craft a single love match. And Diane Jonasen? Her news career is solid. Her sanity? Not so much.

They have reunited thirty-five years after they were students at Shorelake College for Women to fulfill a promise to the woman who was their college president. They set out to transform an aging Chicago mansion into a twenty-first-century women’s center, un-aware the process will transform them.

What can you do when loss obliterates your faith, duty blurs hope, self-doubt trumps love or guilt denies you forgiveness? Flawed, funny, occasionally furious, they are about to find out.

Read excerpt as paperback PDF or Kindle eBook.

SRP: $15.95 paperback, $22.95 hardcover

Page Count: 288

Publication Date: 8 March 2015

ISBN-10: 1937484289 paperback, 1956872094 hardcover

ISBN-13: 978-1937484286 paperback, 978-1956872095 hardcover

About the Author

Michele Fitzpatrick is a former staff writer and columnist for the Chicago Tribune. She also has served as executive editor in educational research and STEM product development. Her blog, Mrs. Fitz’s Story Emporium, is a lighthearted look at living in Chicago, IL, working as a writer, and growing up during the lively 1960s.

Reviews

“This novel combines a solid feminine narrative voice with deep insights into the complexities of female relationships: between women in general, among small circles of old friends, between women and their families, and most importantly, within themselves. It's a very good read and a delightful look inside some complex characters, each of them trying in her own way to strike a good-faith bargain with the world.” —JKM, Amazon.com

“Fitzpatrick portrays the complicated nature of women’s relationships with each other with nuance and insight. And in contrast to many women’s novels, this one gives the male characters their due, portraying them as real and complex people rather than stereotypes to promote the author’s agenda. The vividness of the setting will delight anyone who knows the Windy City, and many readers will relish the clever turns of phrase that sprinkle the narrative. All these details add up to an enjoyable debut novel.” —Ruth Hull Chatlien, Ruth Hull Chatlien Books

“I loved this book! It was a pleasure to read and it instantly transported me back to my college years and the camaraderie between women experiencing the sexism of that era and the struggles with trying to appear feminine and independent at the same time. The author has a breezy, shoot-from-the-hip way of writing and an obvious love of the English language that comes through in every sentence of this wonderful book. I highly recommend it to anyone who lived through these times and to their daughters who may be trying to understand where their moms are coming from.” —Elizabeth, Amazon.com

“When I started this story my first reaction was, who got into my life? The background of the characters and their experiences in a Catholic girl’s college were as I remembered my own. The writer’s style was entertaining throughout, the prose clever but meaningful. Although the men in the story were minor characters, I found them delightful. The four women were well characterized and resolved challenges in their lives in manners that were unique to them. These ladies will remain in my mind for a long time.” —Pat, Amazon.com

The Women’s Center

A Novel

About the Author

Reviews

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