Synopsis
A Heartwarming Tale of How True Friendship Can Overcome Life's Obstacles
Gayle Saunders and Patricia Reid have been lifelong friends, as close as sisters. When they were teens their dreams led them down separate paths and away from each other. But they reunited as adults, drawn back together by a bond of friendship that stood the test of time.
Now Pat and Gayle co-own the Ell & Me Company, a business they founded based on a character Gayle created years ago for her daughter. Things are going well, but real-life dramas ensue as each must face issues from the past in order to protect the future.
Pat and Marcus look like the perfect twenty-first-century couple smart, talented, each at the helm of a high-profile enterprise and at the top of their game. but will their professional pursuits leave them time for each other and a family, or carry them into the arms of others? Will a paternity claim prover to be too much of an obstacle to overcome?
Gayle faces her own family drama and struggles to maintain control of her life. Despite dating other men, has she ever really gotten over her ex-husband, Ramsey the gambler who left her and their daughter, Vanessa, in financial ruin? Gayle bends over backward to provide a stable, comfortable home for Vanessa, who seems just as devoted to making Gayle pay for every mistake she has ever made. And what ever happened to Ramsey?
Laurie A. Cavanaugh - Library Journal
DeBerry and Grant, Essencebest-selling coauthors and self-described best friends for 25 years, have written a sequel to Tryin' To Sleep in the Bed You Made(1997), picking up the story of best friends Patricia Reid and Gayle Saunders ten years later. Financially successful and running a company together, Pat and Gayle now struggle with personal issues they're ashamed to tell each other. Goal-oriented Pat realizes she and busy husband Marcus are living parallel lives; she's toying with the idea of an affair. Secretly binging and purging to relieve anxiety, Gayle worries most about her headstrong teenage daughter, Vanessa. The novel's main characters are African American, but universal issues of family, self, pride, and shame-rather than race-are the focus. Frequent references to events of the first book will refresh readers' memories and catch up newcomers. With no graphic sex scenes or swearing, this tale about girlfriends going through tough times will likely appeal most to women aged 30 and over. Recommended for women's fiction collections, especially where Pearl Cleage is popular.