This is Your Life Harriet Chance by Jonathon Evison

I read this whole book in one night, so it is a quick read. And you do feel for the main character, Harriet--who has really had kind of a rough life, which we find out more and more about as the story unfolds. As the story opens, Harriet, who's close to 80, is still recovering from the death of her husband, Bernard. Theirs was not a particularly happy marriage--but she still misses him. One day she finds out about a trip to Alaska that Bernard had planned. She decides to take the trip with her best friend Mildred. Then Mildred backs out at the last minute and delivers a letter that will totally send Harriet off the rails.  Then Harriet's daughter Carol, with whom she has had a less-than-ideal relationship, shows up on the ship, which sets another whole chain of events in motion.

This book sounded like it might be a lighthearted tale of a woman finding herself. But it's really kind of sad. Harriet had dreams of becoming a lawyer but slowly her dreams--and her gumption--faded away. The more we find out about Harriet's life, the worse we feel for her. The only sort of uplifting story line has Harriet and Carol trying to repair their relationship. There are also periodic appearances of Bernard, appearing to Harriet from the waiting room of heaven. He says he's trying to help her but they only make her look kind of crazy, as she seems to be carrying on conversations with no one.

I like the way the author writes and will have to search out some of his other works. And I think this would be a good book group selection. I would love to know why other people think Harriet let her life turn out the way it did. And why she asked "Uncle Charlie" for a job. And whether the fact that Harriet's mother was so unkind to her impacted her own relationship with Carol. There is a lot of food for thought here, but it is kind of a depressing book.