She's Come Undone

She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is our January book club selection and what a book!  This is actually the second time around for me.  I read this book for the first time when I was in my third year at college.  I remember enjoying it, but thinking the main character, Dolores, was whack!  Reading it the second time, I felt like I really didn't remember the last two sections of the book at all, so it was like reading it for the first time.  And Dolores, well she didn't seem so whack afterall, well kind of!

The book captures the life of Dolores from the time she is around 12 up until she is 40.  Being in my 30's reading the book this time around, I felt like I could better relate to Dolores and all she went through in her life.  Dolores was the product of a divorced family, which many of us are.  However, Dolores sprials out of control and is put into difficult situations in which she isn't equipped to deal with.  To be honest, I don't really care for Dolores from the time she is 17 until she is about 24.  After that point, I get her and I want her to do well.  It's almost as if she becomes a different person.  It is such an empowering time and a time of self discovery.  As young adolescents, we certainly become self absorbed and feel like we can conquer the world, don't we?  I find it amazing that there are times in our life when we feel lost and depleted, then something just clicks and we get our act together and our life takes a completely different path.  This book is about accepting our journey and who we become along the way.  I highly recommend this book.  Great read.