“So many times, I imagined just once he would do something so wrong that I could not forgive him. It would be so much easier. Having to deal with roller-coaster emotions predicated on nothing but an uneasy, unfulfilled feeling in my gut was exhausting.”
“Instead of healing my broken pieces, the more we seemed to try, the more obvious it became to me that we were just trying to fix things with band-aids.”
So what’s it about?
Jenn, fifty-something and empty-nesting, feels like a donut: whole on the outside but missing the middle. The deafening sound of silence in the picture-perfect, oversized home she shares with a husband who does not see her makes the voices arguing in her head hard to ignore. One voice tells her to stay because safe and simple is good; another says leave so you can be the version of yourself not defined by others. The thought of ever after without happily feels like purgatory.
The chance discovery of her long-forgotten diaries unearths memories of a first love long buried, reminders that the most beautiful love is sometimes wasted on the young. Her words become a very real reminder of everything first love had been when she reconnects with Tripp in unexpected ways.
Long Enough to Love You by Kirsten Pursell follows Jenn – a courageous yet vulnerable protagonist – as she dissects and unpacks her marriage in an emotional journey to stay true to herself despite societal norms and middle-age stereotypes that would suggest otherwise.
A little tidbit from the author herself:
While I knew I wanted to write a story about second chances at love much later in life, it wasn’t until I rediscovered my diaries – and was reminded of the power of first love- that it evolved from there. You get one first love, and imagining what the range of emotions of reconnecting might be like decades later was intense. It added layers to the already raw and emotional journey Jenn was going on as she was figuring out how to be true to herself. Those emotions are real for so many women, just as I imagine Jenn could be so many women.
I think, too, it’s easy to forget that women, as we age, still want to be seen as sexy and beautiful and we like the idea of a man challenging us. Jenn was open to all that, even if it meant being uncomfortable and sometimes awkward while trying to figure it out. Those complicated emotions were unexpected, throwing her off course and forcing her to reconcile her past with a decision to move forward in her present. The emotions are raw. The internal struggles are real. And the power of love overarching.
And an even more personal look at the inspiration for “Tripp”, the author says:
Lastly, back in October, I did a podcast for my memoir that I had released in 2021
…the first love I refer to in this podcast was the basis for the character of Tripp in this book. It wasn’t at all how I intended it when I set out to write LETLY, but funny how life works sometimes! I think it’s a fun teaser but really only if you’ve read the memoir.
“You can listen to a song a hundred times and never really hear it. Then one day the song stops being background noise and you actually process the lyrics. This was that song. The words resonated deeply. Once I actually heard them.”
And here’s the playlist:
“I heard myself under my breath: You are going to be his beautiful mistake after all. No wonder I loved music so much: Sometimes the power of suggestion transcended beyond the words being spoken as a call to action.”
And now for the giveaway:
The author has:
…a bundled giveaway within the US… a signed book, coffee mug, deck of playing cards, and a pen all with the LETLY cover.
How to enter for a chance to win it?
Just leave a comment below (tell us your most intense marital strife and/or second chance romance book), and by 10pm EST, Sunday January 29th 2023, I will randomly select one lucky commenter as the winner.
The winner will be contacted and will have 48hrs to respond confirming their mailing address, so if you are picked, do not delay or you will lose your chance. The book will be sent to the winner by the author.
Open to U.S. only but all are welcome to comment!
“I was fully aware that the grass was not always greener on the other side. But what if the grass wasn’t really that green on your side anyways? If the grass was already an off-shade of brown, did it matter if it was brown on the other side too?”
I really liked reading “The Notebook” by, Nicholas Sparks. I love books set in the south & the story of Noah & Allie always touches my heart. Kirsten’s book, “Long Enough to Love You” sounds like a story I would resonate with.
This book sounds so good. I’ll have to check it out. 🤞🏻 for winning. I ❤️ playing cards along with reading. My favorite martial strife book is Heartbreak Warefare by Kate Stewart and Heather M. Oregeron (it was hard to pick just one). There are so many good choices from this genre of books.
I just finished Main Street by Dianna Wilkes not long ago and a long of the problems were caused by a husband who wanted to keep his son. So, children are always a marital strife.
My most intense marital strife book is Broken Play by Alison Rhymes.
This book sounds really good can’t wait to read it. My Marital Strife book would be For Lucy by Jewel E Ann.