About the Author

Bethan Darwin is the founding partner of a law practice, a volunteer for the Cardiff Law Centre, and a lecturer on discrimination law. She is also the founder of Superwoman, a businesswomen's charity networking group, and the winner of the Pure Gold award.

Reviews

Bethan Darwins second novel covers the weeks leading up to Anna Lewis's fortieth birthday. Divorced for nine years with two teenage boys and a nine-year-old daughter, Anna has a hectic life juggling her domestic chores with her job in an estate agency. The family live in south Wales and Anna enjoys the stability of raising her family in her home town with her parents and friends nearby. But it was not always so. In flashbacks, Anna remembers that as an eighteen-year-old schoolgirl she left home to live a carefree life working in Europe with her first love, Mack. When she became pregnant they agreed to return to Wales where they married, but after a few years, Macks wanderlust returned and, with Annas agreement, he left the family, returning occasionally to see his children. Annas birthday is the focal point of this novel, but around it the author weaves the story of her life with Mack; the resentment she feels when she catches sight of her friend Jane, whose husband Bob has multiple sclerosis, having an affair with a much younger man; and her disapproval when her best friend Glynis declares that she wants to have a baby by sperm donation. At the same time Annas sons are going through their own adolescent anxieties, adding extra worries to the main characters already hectic life. These are conflicts with which many women in Annas situation will empathise. How Anna copes with these challenges, while planning her birthday party on a tight budget, is brought to a head when her ex-husband returns. Will Anna be tempted to escape to the carefree life she had with Mack as a young girl, or will she choose the secure life of her home village? A well-written, relaxing family story. Beryl Thomas It is possible to use this review for promotional purposes, but the following acknowledgment should be included: A review from www.gwales.com, with the permission of the Welsh Books Council. Gellir defnyddio'r adolygiad hwn at bwrpas hybu, ond gofynnir i chi gynnwys y gydnabyddiaeth ganlynol: Adolygiad oddi ar www.gwales.com, trwy ganiatd Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru. -- Welsh Books Council