Susan Keller

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Published by: BookBaby
Release Date: June 11, 2024
Pages: 288
ISBN13: 979-8350955309

 
SYNOPSIS

Drinking too much is the result of trauma for my protagonist, Annie Marks. When she was twelve, her mother divorced her alcoholic father who immediately remarried and adopted his second wife’s daughter. Annie was replaced and has never fully healed from that trauma. Annie’s need for her father’s love motivates her to continuously aim higher and work harder. This drive has led her into a stubborn drinking habit.

Annie is 27-years-old and has taken a break from medical school to waitress, make money, and pay down her crushing student debt. On a volunteer beach clean-up, she meets Dean, a smart, funny, sexy fireman, whose only noticeable vice is cheesecake. They fall deeply in love.

Annie desperately wants to accept Dean’s proposal of marriage. But he doesn’t know about her affair with alcohol, a secret that profoundly concerns her. She asks for time, and he is hurt and angry. Annie researches behavior modification and begins her journey towards drinking far less.

The morning after Dean’s proposal, Annie gets a distressed call from her estranged mother, Barbara. She asks Annie to drive her and Ray, Annie’s stepfather, from the Mojave Desert to the Bay Area, where Ray—who is clinically depressed—must receive electro-convulsive therapy.

The phone call is the impetus for a grueling four-day road trip where Annie is wedged into a 1977 Mustang with Barbara, Ray, and Marco, their tranquilized cat. On this arduous journey, they encounter an array of memorable characters who bring mother and daughter closer while illuminating the challenges Annie is facing regarding her drinking habit.

At book’s end, Annie has significantly reduced her drinking. A happy ever-after ensues.