Daisy Dooley Does Divorce

Anna Pasternak
5 Spot (2007)
ISBN 9780446177948
Reviewed by Leslie Granier for Reader Views (10/07)


Daisy Dooley has recently divorced after waiting for so long to get married.  Now she must deal with PDD - post divorce dating.  She longs to find the right man and to have a family, but all she keeps finding are losers and jerks.  She has neither a home of her own nor a job and keeps repeating the same mistakes.  Her two closest friends, Lucy and Jess, are no help either because they have completely different ideas of how relationships should work and each tries to advise her as to what to do to achieve happiness.  Daisy pines for Julius, a successful businessman whom she has loved since she was a teenager, and will not give up her desire to be with him even though he is with someone else.  Eventually, Daisy learns to step up and take charge of her own life instead of sitting back letting others tell her what she should do.

This book is about different kinds of relationships - friendships, romantic, and parent-child.  Daisy's envy of Lucy's seemingly perfect marriage led her to believe she was a failure since she had not obtained the same thing.  Daisy's parents divorced when she was young so her outlook on relationships was somewhat jaded.  I was a little confused by the ending.  Did Julius return to be with Daisy or was he merely there to give her a gift for Christmas? 

Knowing that this book is based on the author's life made it even more interesting to me.  It is what some may call “chick lit.”  Readers will love the cat fights but will be touched by the support and friendship shared between the characters.  From her obsession with self-help books to her insecurities about dating, the humor shines through magnificently.  My favorite scene was when Daisy and Lucy wrote letters about what qualities their perfect mate should have.   It really touched my heart to see what they considered important in their lives.

The message to obtain from “Daisy Dooley Does Divorce” is to take charge of your own life and take the steps necessary to reach your goals.  Figure out what you want and go for it because anything that is important will require hard work to achieve.

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