The Life List

On the outside Brett Bohlinger appears to have a charmed life.  She has a successful lawyer boyfriend, is the vice president of her family's lucrative cosmetics company, and has many friends in her Chicago hometown.  However, when her mother dies of cancer, Brett grieves for her mother, who she cared for up until the end.  Immediately after her mom's death, Brett is dealt another blow - the promotion to president of the company she expected from her mother's will never materializes and Brett is fired by the new president, her sister-in-law.

Brett's mother has planned this big change in her daughter's life, leaving behind some special instructions.  A list of life goals Brett penned when she was just fourteen is given to her by her mother's attorney, with instructions from her mother that she must complete ten of these goals before she can receive her inheritance.

Some of the goals include having children, finding the love of her life, and even buying a horse.

Brett is in for a few surprises as she sets about working on this list.  And, as she completes the different challenges set before her, she develops as a person, becoming the woman her mother always knew she could be.

This was a book I read nearly from start to finish without putting it down.  Lori Nelson Spielman's debut was a quick read with an interesting plot, and some tearful moments.  Highly recommended for women's fiction lovers and book clubs.