The Proper Care and Maintenance of Friendship

By: Lisa Verge Higgins

Narrated by: Hillary Huber

Rachel Braun was the inspiration to her group of friends, the one who lived each day to the fullest—and the one whose life was cut tragically short. Upon her untimely death, Rachel left letters for her three best friends challenging them to face their biggest fears.

Sarah, an international relief worker who calls the steamy jungles of Africa home, must travel halfway around the world to track down the only man she ever loved. Stay-at-home mom Kate must confront her fear of heights by skydiving and soon finds that her new hobby is affecting her once-tranquil marriage. She and her husband must find a way to rekindle the romance they once shared. And Jo, a media mogul voted “least likely to breed,” is given the most terrifying assignment of all: caring for Rachel’s orphaned and grieving little girl. In doing so, Jo is forced to confront her own unhappy childhood—and the wall it has built around her heart.

Even as these women mourn Rachel’s passing, her legacy lives on and their lives are enriched by a friend who, in many ways, knew them better than they knew themselves.

©2011 Lisa Verge Higgins (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Higgins writes with grace and humor, reminding us to hold tight to the ones we love.” (Luanne Rice, New York Times best-selling author)

“ The Proper Care and Maintenance of Friendship is a lovely novel with moments of deeply moving insight into what it means to be a mother, a wife, and a friend. Read it and share it with your own friends—you’ll be glad you did!” (Nancy Thayer, New York Times best-selling author)

“Full of humor, love, and life lessons, this is an uplifting and satisfying novel that lingers long after the last page.” (Elizabeth Noble, best-selling author of The Reading Group and The Girl Next Door)

Totally Chick Lit

This is chick lit upgraded, with volunteerism in 3rd world countries, breast cancer, skydiving, parenting an orphaned, angry little girl and other adventures thrown in. This doesn't have castles with moats and handsome strangers on white horses but it has the 2011 equivalent.

It also raises the question of what happens when a single parent family loses its parent, if there are no safe and solid parenting choices amongst relatives and family. In a way it's a cautionary tale on taking steps to avoid the probable upheavals for a child in foster care.

It's well-written though, and read very slowly in a lazy, husky voice that sounds like it's had too many cigarettes.