** spoiler alert ** I hated this book. I didn't necessarily enjoy it throughout, but when I got to the end, and saw how she ended it all, I was so mad! there is nothing likable about this woman. She is spoiled and selfish--her children may have grieved her loss, but they were better off without a self-absorbed trollop like herself in their lives. the way to self-realization, as this book seems to imply she's finding, is NOT to break every vow you've made, betray every relationship, abandon your children, and kill yourself in the end because you just can't deal with it anymore. This reminds me of two other books I hated--the Wuthering Heights and Catcher in the Rye. if you want to read a much better book about a woman actualizing herself and making a new life for herself, despite those around her, read the Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery. Not this drivel.