Firstly, I wish to thank Christine Webber, the author of this book, for inviting me on this wonderful blog tour.

ABOUT THE BOOK

So Many Ways of Loving is a novel in which, at first glance, nothing much happens – there’s no espionage, no high-speed car chases, murders, or haunted houses. But in a sense, everything happens – loss, death, grief, serious illness, but also birth, unexpected romance, fresh adventures and numerous possibilities. Three women in their 50s and 60s travel through the most momentous year of their lives, and as they do so, they are reminded of just how much we depend upon family, friends and pets.

Dr Max Pemberton – psychiatrist and Daily Mail columnist – who has provided the cover quote for So Many Ways of Loving, says: ‘This is a poignant and insightful tale of widowhood and other challenges of later life which really resonated with my clinical experience.’

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So Many Ways of Loving

MY THOUGHTS

Life is full of chances and being in the right place at the right time. When three strangers answer an advert to work for a new company, the seminar they are sitting through isn’t what they thought it would be. Impulsively, after a brief couple of sentences introducing themselves, they decide to abandon it and head for coffee and cake.

The story only covers the following ten months, but between the three women, they have had over 170 years of living, before they met. Monica, Jen and Lucy couldn’t be more different, but they bounce off each other like forever friends. Within pages of this story, I felt such a bond with all of them. I was nodding along as their thoughts, and lives came to life on the pages. I liked how each chapter had pieces of all three of them, rather than just about one of them at a time. They straight away felt like they belonged together. There is an addition to the three friends, Helen, who sort of sneaks in chapters before becoming the fourth cog in the friendship, later in the book.

Each of their lives unfolds, in this tell-all story of their past, present, and future. I laughed so much, felt my heart quicken with romance and have that going over a bridge feeling in my tummy, felt the empty feeling of losing someone, and at times sobbed ugly tears uncontrollably. Most of all I felt the true friendship that they had for each other.

New characters arrive throughout the story, which impacts the three friends relationship but shows how other people can change who we are. A beautiful story, very well written, and in my opinion, the author’s best work. I won’t forget these three. Just wonderful! Highly recommended.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Christine Webber tried various careers in her younger days – she was a classical singer, a Principal Boy in pantomimes, an undistinguished actress as well as a piano and singing teacher. Fortunately, for her, when she was thirty, she managed to get a job in television as a continuity announcer, and shortly thereafter she became a news presenter at Anglia TV. Finally, she had found an occupation she liked that other people thought she was good at. This was a massive relief.

In her early forties, she married the love of her life, David Delvin. Soon afterwards, she decided it was time to leave news presenting to train as a psychotherapist and she also became a problem page columnist for various publications including TV Times, Best, BBC Parenting, The Scotsman and Woman. In addition, she regularly broadcast relationship advice on Trisha, The Good Sex Guide …Late and from the BBC’s Breakfast sofa.

In her fifties, she and her husband set up a practice in Harley Street, and they worked together there and collaborated on several books. They also wrote the sex/relationships content on http://www.netdoctor.co.uk and penned a joint column for the health section of The Spectator.

Over the decades, Christine was commissioned to write ten self-help books including Get the Happiness Habit, How to Mend a Broken Heart and Too Young to Get Old.

Now, in her seventies, her focus is on the issues of mid and later life. She makes video podcasts on positive ageing and writes a column for various regional papers on that theme. She is also a life coach specialising in health and ageing. But she has no plans for any more non-fiction books. Instead, for the past five years she has concentrated on writing novels for and about older people. Previous titles in this genre have been Who’d Have Thought It? and It’s Who We Are.

So Many Ways of Loving is about the major life changes we have to expect as we age, but it also highlights the possibilities of numerous new beginnings as well as our crucial need for strong bonds with friends and families – and pets

Twitter: @1chriswebber