The Interruption of Everything

Description

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Terry McMillan comes a “frank, no-holds-barred, humorous look at African-American midlife” (The Seattle Times).

“Being a lifetime wife and mother has afforded me the luxury of having multiple and even simultaneous careers: I’ve been a chauffeur. A chef. An interior decorator. A landscape architect, as well as a gardener. I’ve been a painter. A furniture restorer. A personal shopper. A veterinarian’s assistant and sometimes the veterinarian. I’ve been an accountant, a banker, and on occasion, a broker. I’ve been a beautician. A map. A psychic. Santa Claus. The Tooth Fairy. The T.V. Guide. A movie reviewer. An angel. God. A nurse and a nursemaid. A psychiatrist and psychologist. Evangelist. For a long time I have felt like I inadvertently got my master’s in How to Take Care of Everybody Except Yourself and then a PhD in How to Pretend Like You Don’t Mind.

But I do mind.”

Today forty-four year old Marilyn Grimes has decided to be something other than a wife, a mother, a sister, or a daughter: herself. But first, she has to figure out exactly who that is….Praise for The Interruption of Everything

“TERRY MCMILLAN KEEPS IT REAL.…easily her most accomplished tale…by turns laugh-out-loud funny and gut-punch painful. McMillan has painted a convincing portrait of the kind of woman who can say yes to everyone but herself.”—Boston Herald

“VINTAGE MCMILLAN…a very human story with large doses of friendship, humor, family, and imperfect relationships.”—The Dallas Morning News

“[MCMILLAN] HAS…A CUTTING WIT, a knack for capturing the way real people think and speak, a fearless willingness to engage complex, painful issues, and an unerring instinct for fashioning characters that enchant readers’ imaginations.”—The Washington Post

“WITH HUMOR AND HEART AND HUMANITY, MCMILLAN SPEAKS TO WOMEN ON THE VERGE.” —The Hartford CourantTerry McMillan is the award-winning, critically acclaimed #1 New York Times bestselling author of Waiting to Exhale, Getting to Happy, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, A Day Late and a Dollar Short, The Interruption of Everything, Who Asked You?, Mama, Disappearing Acts, I Almost Forgot About You, It’s Not All Downhill From Here, and the editor of Breaking Ice: An Anthology of Contemporary African-American Fiction. She lives in California.

INTRODUCTION
Everyone wants something from Marilyn Grimes. She is a wife, mother, daughter, and friend, tireless in her devotion and saintly in her self-sacrifice. But, after years of constant giving, Marilyn is ready to receive. She wants a sense of purpose; and she needs passion in her life. More than anything, Marilyn wants her self back, but she’s not sure where or how to find it.

In Terry McMillan’s new novel, The Interruption of Everything, the dilemmas of family, identity, and love loom large as seen through the lens of one woman’s midlife crisis. McMillan continues to write at the top of her game, displaying the honesty and hilarity that have won over millions of readers. McMillan’s latest heroine, Marilyn—tough and tender, good but flawed—will be familiar to any woman who has faced disappointment or heartache, who has felt she has given so much of herself there’s nearly nothing left.

With a sharp tongue and a quick pen, McMillan outlines the mountain of responsibility that is Marilyn’s life. A stale marriage, an expanding waistline, and an elderly mother are only the beginning of her concerns as Marilyn attempts to be all things to all people. Yet, as frustrated as she feels about being constantly needed, Marilyn is wrestling with a new wrinkle to her life: not being needed anymore. Her husband Leon has left to find himself in Costa Rica—perhaps with a young girlfriend in tow—and the children they raised together are busy, independent adults. Even Arthurine, her Bible-toting mother-in-law, suddenly seems fulfilled, with vacations in Vegas and a new boyfriend. Everyone is following their dream but Marilyn. She has artistic flair that would make Martha Stewart sit up and take notice, but she’s never been able to devote much time to her ideas. With an absent husband and an empty nest, will she finally have her moment of peace? Can she focus on her own goals for a change?

McMillan is too smart for simple resolutions, however; she knows life just doesn’t work that way. Mixing tragedy with comedy, she keeps Marilyn juggling, maintaining her multitasking frenzy until the last page. Between frustrations and obligations, Marilyn begins to realize that life is nothing but a series of interruptions, and that dreams are what you make of them. Ultimately, The Interruption of Everything sees midlife as the start of a new life, and so ends with a beginning; Marilyn is full of potential, and McMillan leaves it to her readers to imagine what will happen next.

ABOUT TERRY MCMILLAN

Terry McMillan is the critically acclaimed, award-winning author of five previous novels and recipient of the Essence Award for Excellence in Literature. She is also the author of A Day Late and a Dollar Short andWaiting to Exhale.

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