Husbands May Come and Go but Friends are Forever: A Novel

Judith Marshalls wonderfully entertaining Husbands May Come and Go but Friends are Forever, set in the year 2000, takes readers into the intimate lives of six women in their 60s (or almost) whose friendship has endured, evolved, and deepened since their youth together. Through her colorfully real female characters, their joys and challenges, and the men they love or have loved, Marshall has created a Sex and the City-like world of friends who grew up before womens lib and The Pill, yet whose adult lives were caught up by the sweeping social changes of the last 40 years. From nostalgic remembrances of lunches of bologna sandwiches, Hostess cupcakes, and cherry Kool Aid, Howdy Doody, Evening in Paris cologne, and Noxzema to reflections on sex, marriage, divorce, motherhood (a model quite different from that of their own mothers), work and glass ceilings, gut feelings and self-doubt, vulnerabilities and death, Husbands. . . will grab you, especially if you, too, are the age of Marshalls characters Liz, Karen, Gidge, Jo, Arlene, and Rosie. I laughed, I empathized, I was amazed (I didnt know there was an alternative to Tupperware parties). I like mysteries and although I didnt suspect the outcome about Karens death, it made sense. I read Husbands... in two days, all the while feeling that if one author can speak for a generation (or at least a significant segment of one), Judith Marshall and her books narrator Liz surely has captured the spirit of pre-boomer women. From the opening line of Husbands. . . Morning sunlight sliced through the dark canopy of clouds, but the rain continued to pummel the pavement. . . I was struck by Marshalls fluid writing, her lively descriptions and use of action verbs. All that and her skillful, witty dialogue and asides, and a candor that may not have been acceptable four or five decades ago, make Husbands... both a very pleasurable and powerful read.

Reading this book made me feel as though the author had wrapped her arm round my shoulder, handed me a glass of delicious wine, and ushered me in to a living room full of funny, warm and eccentric friends. Judith Marshalls writing is crisp and engaging and her characters, whose friendships endure everything from teenage angst to infidelity, divorce and death, are at times so real that they seem to walk off the page. I laughed out loud several times at lines like I wasnt sure what a training bra was for, but I sure hoped it trained my boobs to look like Karens, and (Arlene) looked as though shed been pulled through a hedge backwards. Ultimately, Husbands May Come and Go but Friends are Forever is the story of how friendships expand our compassion and lend meaning to our lives. A terrific book for book clubs!

Liz has everything, a great man, children, a steady job that pays her bills plus some, and a great group of friends who have been with her for 40+ years. Then suddenly most of that is gone. She loses her job, her partner moves to the other side of the country, and one of her best friends is killed. Where does she go now? Liz is left with a huge hole of emptiness, but must pick up the pieces. She is incredibly strong and independent and the group of women find an even deeper bond through the death of their beloved Karen. Judith Marshall captures a lot of emotions in this well written book by making me relate to all of the women in some way or another. I felt a sense of happiness and warmth upon completion of this novel. Well Done!

I usually dont read this type of genre nor novels. Somehow I am more drawn to self help and spiritual books. However - here I was drawn to the title. The title resonated with me and so I wanted to see what this is all about. The way Judith was able to describe life as a whole and related circumstances, was fascinating to me and so I read the book within several days. It was entertaining and thought provoking and I am sure that everyone reading the book will find a parallel within his/her own life. After I read the book I had to agree even more with the title and would like to recommend it to anyone in doubt.

California author Judith Marshall wrote this delicious novel in 2009 and it remains a popular favorite among women of a certain age - as well as readers who simply enjoy excellent writing. On Judiths website she offers a fine little bio and it helps the reader to know the `girl talk from the author: `Born in the Napa Valley, the only daughter of warring parents thrown together out of need rather than love, I learned early to escape to the movies to shelter myself from the chaos at home. Slumped down in the dark, I dreamed of one day becoming a writer, someone who could express her feelings on paper. But soon life got in the way and it wasnt until years later, when I had finished reading Rebecca Wells book, The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, that I slammed the book shut and exclaimed, That bitch wrote my book! (No offense, Ms. Wells) Anyway, I left my job as an HR executive and turned my attention back to my childhood dream. Inspired by the support of a group of lifelong friends, I sat down at the computer and began to write a story Id had in my head for years. When the first draft was complete, I joined the California Writers Club, found a critique group, and never looked back. Five years and three revisions later, my first novel, `Husbands May Come and Go but Friends are Forever, was born. Though falling into the category of `chick lit (a VERY lucrative and popular assignation these days!) Judith Marshall just writes so well that it is doubtful this book will ever fall out of favor. Not only can she distill the humor of the baby boomer (and a few years before the designated starting point of 1946!) age, especially women who have come through the `Mad Men housewife station and advanced to independent careers, but she can also plumb the depths of honest expression of loss, love, need, hope and hilarity that accompanies that segment of our society. Marshalls been there done that approach to this novel makes it not only wholly credible, but wonderfully heart felt and enormously fun to read. Brief synopsis (better to read the book for the details and joy): Elizabeth Reilly-Hayden is a 60-year-old HR director who after preparing packets for the newly laid off personnel finds that biggest packet her own - no job, her long term lover is being transferred to the East Coast, her children are `divorcing her (moving out), and instead of jumping into the fray of the eligibly unemployed she gathers her very longterm best friends Karen, JoAnn, Gidge, Rosie and Arlene each of whom has weathered menopause, multiple marriages, dramatic divorces, and other frustrations. When the news of Karens death in a motorcycle accident, as is their custom the band of sisters decide to trek to Lake Tahoe (the deceased Karens vacation home) to tend to the funeral arrangements for Karen as well as attempt to analyze the mystery of the accident that took Karens life. It is a time where each of the friends reveals the spectrum of emotions that accompany grief, but also that because of their profound bonding leads to some of the most marvelous humor and tales and `withheld information that begins to flow from the mutual coming together: the arrival of ex-husbands and grown child to mourn only adds to the images so beautifully defined by the author that they plead to be shared with future re-reads. On every level this is a book of unbounded love, that sort of depicted relationships that once again proves that friends are our most important treasure. Read this book and enjoy belly laughs and tears equally. Brava! Grady Harp, July 14

I can easily see why Husbands May Come and Go, But Friends Are Forever has been optioned for the big screen. Its one of those stories that will make you laugh out loud and cry silently, with many heaving sighs in between. Judith Marshall has written a book that makes me glad that I love to read. Part of the reason it took me a while to write this review because I was casting the characters in my mind. It was a quick read, but I really wanted to take time to think about my characters. Husbands is a story of a group of friends who have known and supported each other through decades of life, struggles, tragedies and triumphs, five of whom have to come together once more in the wake of the unexpected and mysterious death of the sixth. Although Marshalls characters, Liz, Karen, Arlene, Gidge, Rosie, and Jo, are a generation of women who came of age in the 1950s and early 60s, they are like any group of girlfriends, from any place, from any time. Having met as teenagers, they soon become something like The Six Musketeers, making pacts and vows to never keep secrets and tell each other everything. Told from the point of view of Liz, the level-headed, Husbands is a series of thoughts, memories, and conversations, weaved together by a tragic event and the aftermath of the surviving friends trying to cope, understand, and heal, as well as uncover a couple of secrets untold. Liz is almost too level-headed for her own good. She was a struggle for me at times. Shes only had one husband, Ricky, (a Tony Curtis or Robert Wagner type) who left her when the kids were still young. We learn through a series of flashbacks, that Liz had trouble liking herself growing up, and I wondered if that trouble might have had something to do with her trouble with choosing a life with her smart, witty, good-looking, generous, kind, successful, emotionally stable, faithful boyfriend, Sam, (Gregory Peck, in my mind) after shed lost her job to a company merger. She got on my nerves, a little bit. Who would really be torn over the kinds of decisions Liz tortured herself with? Oh yeah! The same one who wouldnt be satisfied to be a Maureen OHara in a sea of Esther Williamses. Geez Louise. Id make Grace Kelly, Janet Leigh, or Joanne Woodward my Liz. Or, if Maureen OHara, Id change Sam to Brian Keith. Arlene is the friend that everybody either has, or is. The one who is a shameless flirt, maybe even something of a floozy, who thinks shes more attractive than she really is, but makes up for her genetic shortcomings with self-esteem. If you dont have a friend like Arlene, you are Arlene. Shes also once divorced. I would choose the girl who played Erin in The Waltons, or the lady who played Flo on Alice to be Arlene. I also thought about Glen Close, or (dare I suggest it?) Meryl Streep. Jo is the mostly mousy, but has some spunk (if you coax it out of her) friend. Shes found her footing after leaving her high school sweetheart-turned-abusive husband, later becoming highly successful in real-estate. I would cast Sally Field for Jo. Rosie, the only one who has never been divorced, and so can afford to be so pious (Liz words) is the goody-goody of the group. Shes also an apparent health nut, who likes to run. I dig Rosie for being a middle-aged mama whos still got all of her act together. Shes the cryer, the emotional center, or emotional wreck of the group, depending on the time of day. For Rosie, Id go with Jane Powell. Think Millie, in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. And then theres Gidge. Fabulous Gidge. Married four times, and proud of every bit of it. Shes the crap-talking, while taking no crap, wise-cracking, calling it like she sees it, fun one. I call her the hub of the circle. It was Gidge who brought the others together. My Gidge would be Lucille Ball, red hair and all. Or Rosalind Russell in her Mame-like character. Or maybe Shirley McLaine, during the Steel Magnolia years. And finally, theres Karen, the fallen angel. To say that Liz worshiped Karen would be about accurate, which is why I had trouble with the fact that Liz was never able to tell Karen how much she loved her. That bothered the crap out of me. Youve been friends for 40+ years. Surely, the opportunity to tell each other, I love you, must have presented itself a few times. Karen, who had been married three times, has layers and layers that are peeled back slowly by Liz and the others, who spend days contemplating what led to or contributed to her untimely accident. We see the sweet side, the vulnerable side, the bold, mischievous, fun-loving side, the warm and nurturing side. Its easy to tell why the others miss her. But was it an accident? And if it wasnt an accident, who was the culprit? I was glad this book didnt lend itself too much to the whodunnit, or did-they-do it angle. Karen would have been played by a young-to-middle aged Farrah Fawcett, or Marylin Monroe. Well, to say the ending is happy would be an untruth; but there is happiness and healing, which is why I gave this book a full five stars, instead of the four that Liz kept asking for. After over 3/4 of the way through the book, the mystery of Karens death unravels into a neat bundle of heart strings; while Lizs life finally weaves itself together into a comfortable place, the minor snags working themselves out. At the end of Husbands May Come and Go, But Friends Are Forever, I found myself pleased, although Karens selfish manner of letting go also bothered me a bit. Not sure how much I believed that thought process. Obviously, I recommend this book to others, giving it a solid 4.5 out of 5 total stars, and I round up. And Id be interested to see who other readers cast in certain parts.

I read her other book Staying Aloat first and like that one, this was a page turner that was hard to put down. I dont want to give away the end but was so happy with it. Great job Judith! I would love to see this on the big screen, it would make a great movie!

I really enjoyed this book! It was well written and I found it hard to put down. Loved how it would cover the present (set in 2000) then go back to shared experiences in prior years then back to 2000 The storyline was great about true friendships holding together over many years while living their lives. I’m lucky enough to have friends like this and you always cherish the memories

The spirit of the movie that so captivated people has been elegantly transmuted in Judith Marshalls novel, this time from the point of view a group of sixty-something women whove been friends since high school, their collective friendship the rock each can anchor to when the tides of life threaten to overwhelm. Not that their relationships havent been strained at times, not that personalities dont clash, but they all know that together is better than apart. Reading the novel, it struck me again that guys simply dont have this kind of honesty in their bonds, that raunchy and irreverent as the women in Marshalls novel are, it wouldnt work nearly as well with guys. For one, the dialog would have to be limited to what a man can emote as hes burping. But I digress. To my mind, fictions power increases the closer it veers toward reality. Not physical reality (cant leave out magical realism and sci-fi), but emotional reality - and this story gets it right page after page. Yes, there are some cliches, a few borrowed phrases here and there, but the underlying truth is never obscured and always alive. The world went away as I read. I also ask fiction to give me emotions (and Im SO alone in that). This story delivered, time and again. Marshall displays a great deal of talent, and she handles flashback seamlessly such that we come to know these six women as if they were our sisters, mothers, or aunts. In addition, in classic story fashion, both I and the protagonist have learned something valuable by storys end. Do I want to see the movie? Ive seen The Big Chill several times. Id like to see this one done just as well, so it too can become a repeat view. Just like the book.

Husbands May Come and Go but Friends are Forever By Judith Marshall Judith Marshall writes a delightful book, relating the calamities and deprivations of Elizabeth Reilly Hayden, and her five best friends since their school days. Each one, in their individual style, protects and nurtures the others through the hilarious, often poignant 50s and 60s era to the current time. Broken marriages and unreliable men bind them together, as each faces irreversible heartache, fragile egos and hopelessness. Now as older women, they gather to mourn the loss of one of them, using past memories to lead them back to a somber present. This is a book about everywoman--a handbook for survival that should be read by both sexes. Micki Peluso, Journalist, book reviewer and author of . . . And the Whippoorwill sang.