The Light in Paris

This was such a fantastic book. One of my favorites in 2016. Eleanor Brown is the author of another book I love, The Weird Sisters. So, I knew I liked her writing style, which is brilliant, but unassuming. Cultured, but not pretentious.

The Light in Paris is narrated by a 30 something very unhappily married woman who married a man just because her mom wanted her to and it's what her peer group did. You get married, you have kids, you go to women's league meetings.

Her story parallels her grandmothers, Margie who did the same thing; she settled because she was expected to. However, not before going to Paris in 1924 for the best 3 months of her life.

The Light in Paris is about breaking free from traditional roles and others expectations of you. It's about finding yourself before you settled down. Knowing who you are, what you love, and what gives you joy. All of which is outside of a man's love. While there are love stories in this book, it's not about finding love. It's about defining what womanhood is. It's about empowering women to be who they were meant to be - an artist, an adventurer, a writer.

I loved this book and highly recommend it.