'Finding Colin Firth'

All of us face difficulties, sometimes.  We get stressed, we get scared, we worry. Money, rent/mortgage payments, food, utility bills.  It's to the point that quite a few of us can't get a full night's sleep.

So, after facing a most difficult week (and a huge disappointment, job-wise), I turned to the only thing that could take my mind off my problems.

I escaped to a bathtub full of hot water and a good book.  Not a heavy book, mind you. Something light.  Something that would make me smile.  Can't overwork the brain when there are already a million things swirling around in there.

My book of choice this time was 'Finding Colin Firth', a delightful story written by Mia March.  The plot is easy to digest, and, yes, it made me smile.  After reading it in one sitting (or, should I say, soaking), I stepped out of the tub feeling a bit better.

A film company has set up shop in the small, coastal Maine town of Boothbay Harbor, where rumors swirl that actor Colin Firth will be starring in the movie.  Journalist Gemma Hendricks, recently let go from her job on a newspaper in New York, is sure that getting an interview with the actor will revive her lost career and save her rocky marriage.  But she finds herself on a richer path when she discovers the local unwed mother's home and decides to write a story about it.

Bea Crane is a twenty-two year old woman who finds out that she was adopted. Learning that her birth mother, Veronica Russo, lives in Boothbay Harbor, Bea travels there to meet her, but she is finding it hard to find the courage to do so. Veronica has traveled all over the country, and has come back home to face her past.  Known for her famous 'healing pies', she is a legend in the town not just for her baking, but for the fact that she had given birth to a child when she was just a teenager.  Upon learning that the film company is hiring extras, Veronica finds the courage to apply...and is hired.

These three women come together and share their stories about life, motherhood, the past, and their mutual love of Colin Firth.

Although the book is a quick read, it delighted me, nonetheless.  

And the mention of Colin Firth stepping out of the lake in 'Pride and Prejudice'?

The stress magically disappeared.



'Finding Colin Firth', published by Gallery Books (a division of Simon & Schuster), is available at your local library and independent bookstore.