The Start of Something Wonderful by Jane Lambert
ABOUT THE BOOK
It’s never too late to follow your dreams…
Forty-year-old air stewardess, Emily Forsyth, thought she had everything a woman could wish for: a glamorous, jet-set lifestyle, a designer wardrobe and a dishy pilot boyfriend. Until he breaks up with her…
Catapulted into a mid-life crisis she wishes she’d had earlier, she decides to turn her life upside-down, quitting her job and instead beginning to chase her long-held dreams of becoming an actress!
Leaving the skies behind her, Emily heads for the bright lights of London’s West End – but is it too late to reach for the stars?
Don’t miss this heartwarming and uplifting debut, perfect for fans of Colleen Coleman and Cate Woods!
MY REVIEW
What now? When forty-year-old Emily Forsyth’s pilot boyfriend, Nigel, dumps her it seems that her life as a glamorous, jet setting flight attendant is lacking. Why not follow her dream of becoming an actress? She did put her life on hold after she met Nigel, but there is nothing or no one holding her back now. With no job, no money and no home, she adapts to her new life with humor, courage and determination.
Who needs therapy or self-help books to mend a broken heart? All you need do is follow these three easy steps: a) Give up your well-paid, secure, and interesting job. b) Sell your comfortable home and move into someone’s poky back room, complete with resident psychocat. c) Forgo all luxuries and live from hand to mouth doing menial jobs.
Emily’s exploits are hilarious from a short-term job as a jewelry sales person to a presenter for a shopping channel and a commercial tryout of eating cold pasta with gusto (“think When Harry Met Sally, think … think … orgasmic!”).
When she finally finds her steady niche job as a waitress in an Italian restaurant and meets the attractive and very Italian Francesco, Emily’s life starts looking up. Her acting jobs start to increase and become more promising, but her time with Francesco becomes fewer and farther between. She has worked so hard to get to this point. Is she ready to give up her dream again?
Though this is a work of fiction, I have to wonder if some of these experiences were pulled from her life as a “cabin crew” member and actor. Emily’s adventures are exciting and funny and her journey to discover herself and be happy with her life choices is nothing to be scoffed at. As a woman “of a certain age”, I can relate to Emily’s circumstances and thought processes. This is a great read and Lambert’s humor and sincerity are a breath of fresh air. If you like humorous women’s fiction, you’ll enjoy this debut novel.
The Start of Something Wonderful was previously published as Learning to Fly.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jane Lambert taught English in Vienna then 
travelled the world as cabin crew, before making the life-changing decision to become an actor in her mid-thirties. She has appeared in “Calendar Girls”, “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time” and “Deathtrap” in London’s West End. “The Start of Something Wonderful” is her debut novel.
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