Alice's Review: Shoe Addicts Anonymous

Summary: Four different women. One common shoe size. And a shared lust for fabulous footwear.  Helene Zahariss politician husband keeps her on a tight leash and cancels her credit cards as a way of controlling her. Lorna Rafferty is up to her eyeballs in debt and cant stop her addiction to eBay. Sandra Vanderslice, battling agoraphobia, pays her shoe bills by working as a phone-sex operator. And Jocelyn Bowen is a nanny for the family from hell (who barely knows a sole from a heel but who will do anything to get out of the house.)  On Tuesday nights, these women meet to trade shoes and, in the process, form friendships that will help them each triumph over their problems---from secret pasts to blackmail, bankruptcy, and dating. Funny, emotional, and powerful, Shoe Addicts Anonymous is a perfect read for any woman who has ever struggled to find the perfect fit.

Review:  Bonding among women is very easy to do, especially when the common denominator is shoes.  Shoe Addicts Anonymous shows us that four very different women can change each other’s lives one pair of shoes at a time.

There was something about the novel I really enjoyed.  The kinship between the women was familiar and natural.  Although they were so different, they fit together well.  Much like in real life, each woman had a burden she was struggling with.  Something she carried that was affecting her in ways only the friendship of other women can alleviate.  In some odd way, this novel made me happy to be a woman and happy for the friends I have.  I know that sounds corny, but it was the truth.

Shoe Addicts Anonymous was a perfect little escape for me too.  I read this novel rather quickly.  It was very easy to get wrapped up in 70 pages or so at a sitting.  Each woman had a quality that I related to:  In Helene, it was a desire to never return to her past.  In Jocelyn, it was a hope for the future.  In Sandra, it was her shyness and fear.  Of the four, the one I related to the most was Lorna.  With our parchment for shopping and disregard for budgeting, she could have easily been me.  I learned the most from her and her ability to change. 

Beth Haribson has a lot to offer her reader.  With wit and humor, her stories are effortless.  My curiously was definitely peaked and I am looking forward to reading Secrets of a Shoe Addict and Chose theWrong Guy, Gave Him the Wrong Finger.  

Final Take:  3/5
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