So Many Ways of Loving by Christine Webber

Synopsis
This is another novel by Christine Webber in which she writes about the themes of mid and later life. In So Many Ways of Loving, the story is about three women in their 50s and 60s who undergo momentous change over the period of a year. They face up to bereavement, serious illness and the decline of a marriage – but they also discover new beginnings, different ways of living and unexpected support from friends, families and even a rescue dog.

Review
So Many Ways of Loving is the new book from Christine Webber, published on 7 June in paperback and ebook. This book focuses on the lives of three women, all in the twilight years of life, over the course of a year. Through this time they go through divorce, death and ill health, but this also offers them a chance at a new life, a second chance of happiness and new friendships.

So Many Ways of Loving is such a beautiful book to read, with wonderful characters and a well plotted story lines. It is the characters that drive this book and we first meet them at a job seminar as they all look for something new, to give them a purpose at a time in their lives when they were feeling vunerable. Jen is a widow after loosing her husband to the horrible motor neurone disease, Monica is stuck in a loveless marriage, and with her husband retiring she is looking to find something where she can just get out the house and be away from him. Finally there is Lucy, a retired professor also looking for something to fill the days of her retirement. I think Lucy was my favourite character, and whose story really resonated with me as I had a family member go through similar experiences, but I also loved her zest for life, her unusual background and her self-confidence in who she is. After leaving the seminar early the three women go to the The Granary, a cafe and cinema, where they begin to forge friendships and end up working as volunteers for the cinema. At first they all seem very different, Jen is the instigator in getting them together, Lucy is unusual in every sense, intelligent and very open about her life, whilst Monica seems very private and short at times. I loved reading about how their relationships flourished and they became each others support network over the year as they faced new lives.

What I found most refreshing about this book is that Christine Webber’s characters are older women, who are open to love and have, had or will have active sex lives, not the normal portrayal of women in their sixties. Whilst this book is aimed at the more mature reader, I at forty eight, really identified with some of the issues these women had to face, and was able to laugh and cry along with them. Christine Webber shows understanding and empathy to the issues that are faced in this book, from her background as a therapist and journalist, I felt I could see parts of her in the characters and their stories. She is a very skillfull writer, having a balance of light and shade, setting the scene perfectly, creating wonderfully natural characters, and keeping the plot flowing between the lives of the three women and the supporting cast, who are as interesting as the main characters; my favourite was Hoagy, the adorable schnauzer, inspired by a friends dog.

So Many Ways of Loving is such a beautiful book to read, that shows the importance of relationships in our lives; as a couple, as lovers, friendship, family and the love of a beloved pet. I really enjoyed being part of Jen, Monica and Lucy’s lives for a year, laughing and crying along with them, so much so that I didn’t want the book to end; I wanted to follow what came next. This is a book that will stay with me for quite a while, and whilst it may be aimed at the more mature reader, I feel that it would appeal and resonate with a younger audience as well. Uplifting and full of hope this is a warm and captivating read.