Forty-Two Minutes

by Jenny K Percey

Book Excerpt from Forty-Two Minutes

I constantly wonder what it's like to be normal. I've never known. To look at me you'd think I am. On the outside, my life looks almost boring. My name is Lexy Monroe and I live in the suburbs of Los Angeles. I just turned eighteen two weeks ago. My dad's name is Richard. He is a lawyer at a firm downtown.

My mom is Victoria and she used to laugh and she used to sing me to sleep at night and she used to be involved in the PTA when I was in elementary school.

My mom used to do a lot of things. But now, she's just an alcoholic.

Book
Lexy Monroe has spent her entire life trying to survive the nightmare of her mother’s alcoholism. Every minute of every day is a countdown to the next blackout. She fears nothing will ever change, until one day she finds a letter that changes everything.

Dark, painful secrets are uncovered as Lexy travels to her family’s ranch in Tennessee - a family she didn’t even realize she had. She needs to find out the truth about her mom that causes her to want to destroy herself the way she does. She knows something horrible happened to her there, and is determined to find out what her mother has been hiding from her all these years.

While at the ranch, Lexy meets Nick Walker who is just as damaged and broken as she is. A devastating accident has caused him to shut down and shut everyone out. But just as Lexy begins to break through his walls, a terrifying tragedy threatens to tear all their lives apart.

Genres: Fiction

414 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 6, 2022

About the author

Hi! Thanks for stopping by my profile! I'm happy you're here. I've loved writing ever since I was a little girl and spent the last 25 years writing my novel Forty-Two Minutes which is now published. It's a gritty, intense story about my birth mother's alcoholism, and I finally had the courage to share it with the world. There's also a sweet love story tucked within the pages as well. I hope you will check it out!

Reviews

[Katie Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh. This is a DNF for me. I wanted to like it. The premise is good. But damn. Too many grammar mistakes for me, and the plot is just... plodding along. Way too many words that don't really say anything.

[Shauna Hawes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engaging and Engrossing

This story was filled with heart. It was easy to fall for the heroine Lexy and to hate her situation. Supporting characters brought their own stories to the book, which gave a greater perspective. However, they faded in and out, which made it harder to know the weight the characters should be given in the story. The adults all cared deeply but didn’t know how to support and care for the girl. Of course if they did, this wouldn’t be a story! The various struggles and angsty moments went pretty quickly, but if they had been addressed more realistically, the book would have gone on and on.
I really enjoyed this and didn’t want to put it down.

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very sad book about Victoria's dad was a alcoholic and used to beat her and her mom. So she became an alcoholic just like her dad. Her daughter Lexy who was so young took care of her. So it was all so tragic. But things changed when Lexy turned 18.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was long but a great read. I really enjoyed this book so much. Some parts were a little dragged out but the story still pulled at my heart strings.

[Rashell Lashbrook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poignant and achingly beautiful

From the very first line, I was hooked. This heartbreaking tale of a family nearly destroyed by alcoholism and abuse unfolds in a way that invites the reader to understand each character's plight. The author has great understanding and empathy, not only for the victims, but for the alcoholic who has broken the hearts of everyone that has ever loved her. This story is one of healing and second chances, and it will stay with me for a long time....Bravo, Ms. Percey!!

[Jodi Pelc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story line but it did drag on.

[Melissa Giomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, the way the characters are developed & the way emotions are nuanced & brilliantly described, just draw you right in right away. You feel what they feel & root for them & hope for them & want healing & redemption for them. You see with the eyes of the characters the intense damage & pain alcoholism causes to everyone in the sphere, yet you also see that there is healing, hope, reconciliation, love & peace.

[Kacy Price · Rating 3 out of 5]

think hannah montana the movie meets broken people is the vibe. it was kinda a trip but horse girl vibes were interesting but also sweet bcuz some of the character redemption was good. idk i prob wouldn’t read again.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just what I needed while I'm dealing with the icks

It's like reading a Lifetime/ Hallmark movie. Heartbreak, lost, anguish and love. Just the type of cozy book I needed while I was dealing with the flu.

[Holly Oswalt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully written story about addiction, grief and recovery. I loved how the story is told through all the characters. Several times throughout the book I found myself choking on sobs with the characters, or laughing with them, or worrying with them, or loving with them. The story moved a little slow sometimes, otherwise I'd give it 5 stars.

[Margaret Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet love story wrapped inside of a book about familial love and finding yourself in spite of tragedy. I enjoyed the characters. I felt like the book could’ve have been 2- one with the perspective of the daughter only and one of the mother. All in all I like how the author wrapped it together though especially knowing it’s somewhat autobiographical.

[Kathleen A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

what a wild ride

Such a well-written tale. Never having been through much trauma, the author makes everything so real to me. She could do a bit more research— the Triple Crown is only for three-year olds, thus they only run each race once.

[Kristina Custer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can’t give it anything less than 3 stars because the plot is meaningful.. but the book itself just didn’t do it for me.

[Rhonda Burchfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

The descriptive nature of this book grabs you and is amazingly done, normally I skip over long descriptions but not in this book! Made you actually feel the thoughts, smell the fields, incredible.

[Tammy Dietrich · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. I need a second book to see what the future is for Lexie and Nick and the family!

[Ciara Hartman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pulled at my Heartstrings

In depth read, had to stop mid-way through to breathe and regroup. Lots of topics/situations discussed that I felt down to my marrow. Very emotional read for me and so very well written. Highly recommend. Have some tissues handy and be prepared for lots of feels.

[Sheilagh · Rating 3 out of 5]

enjoyed but needs editing

This book is generally my bag, so I did enjoy reading it, but there were many times when I felt it needed editing and also rewriting in parts ie the descriptions were repetitive. Like it was written by a teenager.
It was fine for Free read.

[Jenny Percey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am the author of this book. It took me 25 years to write and was a labor of love for me.

My birth mom was an alcoholic and this book was a purging and a reckoning for me as I struggled to come to terms with the collateral damage her addiction left me with.

Each character in this book is based on someone from my life. I do have biological family out in Tennessee which is why the book takes place out there. My birth mom sings and she passed it down to me which is why music is such an integral, tender part of the story. And Victoria's father in the book is based on my birth father who was a violent drunk.

The traumatic events described in this story did happen. (Even what Victoria does in Chapter 20 unfortunately took place). But so did the healing, recovery and forgiveness, and I wanted to shed light on the grueling process you go through as you find your way back to the surface after suffering for so long.

The reason each chapter is told from a different character's perspective is because I wanted to give each person a voice in a situation where so many are forced to stay silent. Addiction demands compliance and complicity. And, as you read this story, I wanted you to feel as if you are going through each emotion with them. I wanted you to REACT to this book, even if it was out of anger, being horrified and appalled at the unfairness and selfishness, rooting for their redemption, crying over their brokenness, or falling in love.

I also tucked the number 42 all throughout the book as a symbol to mark time and change. Whenever you see the number, know that something is shifting, awakening, and about to break. I have slipped the number into conversations, clocks on the wall, and simple moments that are anything but ordinary. It is a marker and breadcrumb for you to follow on your journey through these preciously flawed people's lives.

Thank you for reading this intensely personal story and I hope you will fall in love with these characters as much as I have.

❤️ Jenny

[k mandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really try not to give one or two star ratings. this story just dragged on with the same thing being said from six different points of view. Six POVs is a lot. The book began and held 4 stars for a short time. It became a bit pedestrian and slipped to 3. Then I ended up having to skim more and more. At points I only reading the first sentence in each paragraph. I go so sick of reading the same thing over and over and over. There were some important themes in the story such as family dynamics, trauma, alcoholism, suicide...but the points were just expounded on in the same way time after time for each character and then the points had to be made all over again with each subsequent character. Perhaps the author did not have enough faith in readers comprehending the depth traumatic events. I could not wait to get through this book. It could have been handled well in half the pages or half the points of view. I really struggled with this one and wanted to give in and deem it a DNR but I forced my way through.

[Kat]

free ebook

her mom was drunk since she was 4. her dad the lawyer did nothing to help. she had to take care of herself and her mom

when she was 18 her dad left her a stack of letters, her mom told her her aunt wanted nothing to do with them, but they were all from her aunt, hundreds of them.

she left her mom and dad and went to tn and found her aunt at the family farm. they were rescuing horses there

her aunt told her their dad was a drunk and her mom had left as soon as she was 18, just like her

[Amanda Peretich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like many of the reviews said, it was a good storyline and I enjoyed the book but it sometimes felt very long and drawn out. This could also be because I went back and forth between it and all these other books that would come in on Libby with a return date or book club books to finish, so it was like an in-betweener. Finally finished it though!

And the ending with him visiting her grave? So much of that got highlighted on my Kindle because it’s how I feel about my Dad’s passing and visiting his grave.

“But life can change in a split-second, or an hour, or even forty-two minutes.”

[Ciara DeBilzan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really connect with pieces of all the characters. Touching story with themes of grief, trauma, love, alcoholism… Some parts were a little dragged out, some grammar issues, but the character development was good and the story exceeded my expectations (as this was a free kindle book). The only thing I think was missed was that I really want to know if Victoria overcame her trauma and broke the cycle of alcoholism.

[Michael E Lucas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Category 5 TISSUE ALERT! The stories of those people whose lives have been affected by alcoholism and PTSD are as varied as the colors of the rainbow. As I read this book, I prayed that it was fiction but I felt that it was too real for that, the pain and suffering of the characters could not be the imagination of the writer, it had to have been experienced before it made it to paper.

[Deonne Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspiring read

This book was a Rollercoaster, but I loved the development of the characters and plot. Growth is a theme that I love in this book. The major characters come full circle to find themselves

[Sherri Harp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet story

I’m not really a fan of this boy meets girl genre but if you are you would like it. It’s a sweet story but the characters felt one dimensional to me and the ending was predictable. I’m a psych thriller fan so it just wasn’t my genre.

[Darla Da · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this story. It was tender and heartwarming.

[Pam Toombs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very intense read

I enjoyed the narrative of this book. It is interesting to realize how much alcoholism can affect a whole family.

[Julonda Sumpter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book but it was a bit too mushy for me. It went on and on and on. I almost didn’t finish the book because I was so tired of it.

[Allie Perez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not enough character development for me. I enjoyed parts of it, but was disappointed overall. I didn’t feel as though I could relate to the characters. Seemed surface level.

[Kathleen | katiereadsandrambles · Rating 4 out of 5]

a bit long winded at times but written beautifully