“Twenty Wishes” by Debbie Macomber
Acclaimed fiction author Debbie Macomber captures the lives of a group of dynamic women whose friendship is the result of a common bond they share: They had been recently widowed. Their marriages for the most part were very different from the perfect pictures seen by the outside world. For most of them their husbands had been unfaithful; one as a matter of habit; another had put that kind of behavior behind him and his marriage was on the mend when tragedy struck; and in Anne Marie Roche's case, well, it was complicated.
Anne Marie is the book's main character and owner of Blossom Street Books in Seattle. She was married for a decade to Robert, a divorced father of two. At the time they met he had made it clear to her that he did not want anymore kids. She had agreed. As time went on though, Anne Marie wanted a child so badly but Robert wouldn't budge. An ill-timed ultimatum from her leads to a separation. Just when they are trying to reconcile, he dies of a sudden heart attack. As if that is not enough tragedy for one person, after his death Anne Marie learns that Robert cheated on her with his assistant who is now pregnant, possibly, with his child.
On Valentine's Day, Anne Marie organizes a party just for the ladies to celebrate their friendship. They decide to each come up with 20 wishes that might help bring some happiness back into their lives and ease the pain of their grief. Anne Marie has a hard time coming up with anything but starts with: Find one good thing about life. Her list also includes volunteer – become a lunch buddy, sing again and travel to Paris with someone I love. Volunteering as a lunch buddy leads Anne Marie to Ellen, an eight-year old girl, who comes to live with Anne Marie when her grandmother falls ill. Their lives become far more intertwined than either of them would have anticipated.
“Twenty Wishes” also follows the stories of the other women. Lillie Higgins is in her sixties. She is the one whose husband was unfaithful their entire marriage. Her wish to have a red sports car leads her to purchase a red BMW convertible on a whim. She meets Hector Silva, a service manager at the car dealership where she bought her car. One thing leads to another and they fall in love. The two of them couldn't be more different. She, white, upper class, rich, privileged. He, Hispanic, working class, accomplished, proud.
Her daughter Barbie, (both their husbands died on the same plane crash) whose wish to once again find the kind of love she shared with her husband leads her to meet moody, brash, sometimes rude, hunky, paraplegic, architect, Mark Bassett, at a move theater. Their relationship is rocky to begin with. Mark's first wife left him after the accident that cost him his legs and he subsequently avoided relationships with women. But he comes around when Barbie learns how to get through his outer shell to his inner softer side.
Anne Marie's wishes also come true. She finds love again. A different kind of love in Ellen, whom she adopts upon the death of Ellen's grandmother. They plan to go to Paris together. She regains her voice and is able to sing again. She even makes number 11 on her list: Dance in the rain in my bare feet. This happened at her step-daughter's wedding reception.
In the end “Twenty Wishes” is about the lesson the ladies learn which we all can learn: Life's possibilities are endless once we open ourselves up to be blessed. While this book may be a work of fiction, true accounts abound of the power of making lists – be they wishes, goals or plans. There is something about how we are wired that once we physically write down a list, we subconsciously start working toward it. Somewhere along the line Providence sets in and the magic starts to happen. This has been my personal experience. It was little Ellen in the book, paraphrasing Anne Marie, who said , “your heart has to let your head know what it wants.” To anyone who wonders whether wishes can come true, I submit to you, yes they can.
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