Book Spotlight : The Idea of Him - Holly Peterson
Synopsis: The Idea of Him - Holly Peterson - April 2014
A fabulous and compelling story from Holly Peterson, the New York Times bestselling author of The Manny
Mary Crawford is a once aspiring screenwriter turned successful public relations executive, mother of two young children, and wife of a hotshot magazine editor whose power base spans the worlds of finance, fashion, culture, entertainment, and society. At 34, she finds herself at a crossroads: between the office and her home, her life has become an endless rotation of people pleasing-whether pulling rabbits out of hats for her mogul boss, entertaining advertisers and phony A-listers for her husband's magazine, or making elaborate costumes for children's school plays. At least, that is, until she meets a head turning, traffic stopping beauty at the bar of the famed Four Seasons Grill Room-where many of the novel's players regularly convene-and shortly thereafter finds the same woman and her husband in an apparently compromising position in her own apartment.
And so begins the story of two very different women bound by similar missions-to uncover the crimes and betrayals of various men in their lives and finally put their own interests front and center. For Mary this ultimately means leaving a husband who is ideal in theory but not in practice, and deciding to risk security for self-fulfillment and a new life on her own. Like so many women, Mary fell for the man she married when she was in her twenties only to realize years later that it wasn't him she fell for as much as it was the idea of him-the idea of a savior who would protect and provide and ferry her from her past into the future. But the guy who seemed so right at the time turned out to be nothing more than a fantasy.
Mary Crawford is a once aspiring screenwriter turned successful public relations executive, mother of two young children, and wife of a hotshot magazine editor whose power base spans the worlds of finance, fashion, culture, entertainment, and society. At 34, she finds herself at a crossroads: between the office and her home, her life has become an endless rotation of people pleasing-whether pulling rabbits out of hats for her mogul boss, entertaining advertisers and phony A-listers for her husband's magazine, or making elaborate costumes for children's school plays. At least, that is, until she meets a head turning, traffic stopping beauty at the bar of the famed Four Seasons Grill Room-where many of the novel's players regularly convene-and shortly thereafter finds the same woman and her husband in an apparently compromising position in her own apartment.
And so begins the story of two very different women bound by similar missions-to uncover the crimes and betrayals of various men in their lives and finally put their own interests front and center. For Mary this ultimately means leaving a husband who is ideal in theory but not in practice, and deciding to risk security for self-fulfillment and a new life on her own. Like so many women, Mary fell for the man she married when she was in her twenties only to realize years later that it wasn't him she fell for as much as it was the idea of him-the idea of a savior who would protect and provide and ferry her from her past into the future. But the guy who seemed so right at the time turned out to be nothing more than a fantasy.
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18090135-the-idea-of-him?from_search=true
Author's Site : http://www.hollypeterson.com/
CHAPTER 28
SIMMERING SITUATIONS
CHAPTER 8 PULLED
TOWARDS THE EDGE
While he was coming to quick terms with the idea that he’d finally
found an attractive woman who cared about his world of nonstop news and gossip,
right away, I knew that I too certainly liked the idea of this Wade Crawford
man before me. He fit a need. His enthusiasm for life and work would soften my
losses: my father in a plane to the ravages of an untimely blizzard and James
to a burning obsession to save every child on the other side of the world.
New York glimmered around us that night, the way it can when
spontaneity falls perfectly into place. After dinner, Wade escorted me to two downtown
parties filled with cigarette smoke and writers. Someday I hoped to be like his
writer friends who wrote long magazine stories and books that they’d mined from
their souls. It was clear from every angle that Wade’s non-stop joie-de-vivre
was more than contagious. He was sheer fun, and full of the possibility of
escape, of renewal even.
He dropped me at my stoop at dawn, kissing me tenderly
on the lips and disappearing into the early morning glow. As I watched him bounce
down the street, all I could think was that he had Daddy’s electricity and
confidence. And that suited me just fine.
CHAPTER 19 FOCUSED
AND FRUSTRATED
He had no doubt betrayed “us” again in some form or fashion because
things were going on around me that he was lying about. He would do that in the
future. I would either smile through or ignore the signs in the future. I would
feel angry and lost and alone in the future. I would tear up photos again in
the future that represented romantic ideals.
“It doesn’t mean what, Wade?”
He didn’t answer my last question; I just heard his rattled
breathing on the other end of the line. I looked around at the mess in front of
me. How the hell was I supposed to finish my work with this bizarre, awkward,
unfinished, hurtful conversation looping in my head?
“Wade,” I said. “I can’t do this now.”
I hung up and suddenly I was back in that mangled plane, in the snow,
desperate for a protector. Was Wade just giving
more of the same unsafe feeling I’d wanted to get away from? And it hit me that I hadn't so much forged a new life in marrying
Wade; I'd simply come full circle. Strange how we
often seek what we hope to escape.
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