"The Art of Saying Goodbye" by Ellyn Bache

When someone's life takes a turn for the worse, it effects everyone around them in different and dramatic ways. That is the story in "The Art of Saying Goodbye" by Ellyn Bache. Paisley Lamm is a high spirited, life of the party, mother of two, married woman who is stunningly diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at age 52 on a warm October day. With the cancer having spread to her liver, there is no hope of recovery and the women around Paisley must come to terms with her imminent passing. She has four neighborhood friends that have been in her life for the raising of her children and shared triumphs and pains. These four woman must stand tall and in their own ways deal with the loss of their friend and sometimes confidant. 


Over the next two months, Paisley's health fails in drastic ways and Andrea, Iona, Ginger, and Julianne (who discovered her enlarged liver at a routine check up at the foot doctor where she is a nurse) all search for ways to show their love and affection for the friend who has in each case changed or bettered their lives with her intervention or words of encouragement. The book is about each friend's struggle to come to terms with the inevitable passing of a dear friend and how to say goodbye when the time comes.


Bache is a well rounded writer and has a trained hand at women's fiction. This is a heartfelt and touching novel about loss and life and the struggle to lead meaningful lives. It is heartwarming and inspiring. A "Great, Great" read for women's fiction lovers out there.