The Soul Searchers Book Club (Age 35+)

The Whispers
by Ashley Audrain
Amazon 4.2; Goodreads 4.0; 336 pages
Hilary will facilitate this session

From the author of THE PUSH, a page turner about four suburban families whose lives are changed when the unthinkable happens--and what is lost when good people make unconscionable choices
The Loverlys sit by the hospital bed of their young son who is in a coma after falling from his bedroom window in the middle of the night; his mother, Whitney, will not speak to anyone. Back home, their friends and neighbors are left in shock, each confronting their own role in the events that led up to what happened that terrible night: the warm, altruistic Parks who are the Loverlys' best friends; the young, ambitious Goldsmiths who are struggling to start a family of their own; and the quiet, elderly Portuguese couple who care for their adult son with a developmental disability, and who pass the long days on the front porch, watching their neighbors go about their busy lives.
The story spins out over the course of one week, in the alternating voices of the women in each family as they are forced to face the secrets within the walls of their own homes, and the uncomfortable truths that connect them all to one another. Set against the heart wrenching drama of what will happen to Xavier, who hangs between death and life, or a life changed forever, THE WHISPERS is a novel about what happens when we put our needs ahead of our children's. Exploring the quiet sacrifices of motherhood, the intuitions that we silence, the complexities of our closest friendships, and the danger of envy, this is a novel about the reverberations of life's most difficult decisions
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Meetup room will open ~7:50pm EST
Please be on time !!!!!!!
Camera must be ON during the meetup !!
PLEASE SIGN UP ONLY IF YOU PLAN TO ATTEND
IF YOU SIGN UP AND CAN NOT ATTEND, PLEASE CHANGE YOUR RSVP TO NO AS SOON AS YOU KNOW YOUR PLANS HAVE CHANGED
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Usually we have ~5-6 last minute dropouts, so if the meetup is full, join the waitlist and read the book -- there is a good chance you will get in

AND
WE ARE LOOKING FOR FACILITATORS FOR THE JUNE AND JULY MEETUPS-- IF INTERESTED, PLEASE LET ME KNOW YOU ARE INTERESTED
ROZ
MEDEDDOC1@GMAIL.COOM

The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers
by Samuel Burr
Amazon 4.2; Goodreads 3.8; 368 pages
Claudia will facilitate this session

Clayton Stumper might be in his twenties, but he dresses like your grandpa and fusses like your aunt. Abandoned at birth on the steps of the Fellowship of Puzzlemakers, he was raised by a group of eccentric enigmatologists and now finds himself among the last survivors of a fading institution.

When the esteemed crossword compiler and main maternal presence in Clayton’s life, Pippa Allsbrook, passes away, she bestows her final puzzle on him: a promise to reveal the mystery of his parentage and prepare him for life beyond the walls of the commune. So begins Clay’s quest to uncover the secrets surrounding his birth, secrets that will change Clay—and the Fellowship—forever.

The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers is pure joy, a story about love and family and what it means to find your people—no matter what age you are.
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Meetup room will open ~7:50pm EST
Please be on time !!!!!!!
Camera must be ON during the meetup !!
PLEASE SIGN UP ONLY IF YOU PLAN TO ATTEND
IF YOU SIGN UP AND CAN NOT ATTEND, PLEASE CHANGE YOUR RSVP TO NO AS SOON AS YOU KNOW YOUR PLANS HAVE CHANGED
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Usually we have ~5-6 last minute dropouts, so if the meetup is full, join the waitlist and read the book -- there is a good chance you will get in

The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife
by Anna Johnston
Amazon 4.5; Goodreads 4.3; 336 pages
Joy will facilitate this session

A zany case of mistaken identity allows a lonely old man one last chance to be part of a family.
“Would you mind terribly, old boy, if I borrowed the rest of your life? I promise I’ll take excellent care of it.”

Frederick Fife was born with an extra helping of kindness in his heart. If he borrowed your car, he’d return it washed with a full tank of gas. The problem is, at age eighty-two, there’s nobody left in Fred’s life to borrow from, and he's broke and on the brink of eviction. But Fred’s luck changes when he's mistaken for Bernard Greer, a missing resident at the local nursing home, and takes his place. Now Fred has warm meals in his belly and a roof over his head—as long as his look-alike Bernard never turns up.
Denise Simms is stuck breathing the same disappointing air again and again. A middle-aged mom and caregiver at Bernard's facility, her crumbling marriage and daughter's health concerns are suffocating her joy for life. Wounded by her two-faced husband, she vows never to let a man deceive her again.
As Fred walks in Bernard’s shoes, he leaves a trail of kindness behind him, fueling Denise's suspicions about his true identity. When unexpected truths are revealed, Fred and Denise rediscover their sense of purpose and learn how to return a broken life to mint condition.
Bittersweet and remarkably perceptive, The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife is a hilarious, feel-good, clever novel about grief, forgiveness, redemption, and finding family.
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Meetup room will open ~7:50pm EST
Please be on time !!!!!!!
Camera must be ON during the meetup !!
PLEASE SIGN UP ONLY IF YOU PLAN TO ATTEND
IF YOU SIGN UP AND CAN NOT ATTEND, PLEASE CHANGE YOUR RSVP TO NO AS SOON AS YOU KNOW YOUR PLANS HAVE CHANGED
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Usually we have ~5-6 last minute dropouts, so if the meetup is full, join the waitlist and read the book -- there is a good chance you will get in