Becoming Finola

Sophie White has just lost her job, so when her newly widowed friend, Gina, asks her to take a three month vacation with her in Ireland, Sophie agrees. Little does Sophie know that 24-hours after arriving in Booley, a tiny Irish tourist town, Gina will head back to the US, leaving Sophie to spend the three months alone in a strange country. Suzanne Strempek Shea, author of Lily of the Valley, depicts a side most women have, but may not be aware of. Sophie believes she is happy with her apartment, her boyfriend, and life in general, until she is thrust into a new life where she has only herself and her creativity to get her through. With the advice of Liam, the owner of a bead shop called Finola O'Flynn, Sophie gives Booley three days and ends up with a completely different take on life and love. The shop was formerly run by the iconic Finola, who is described by everyone in town as a sort of saint. Since Sophie is now working in Finola's old shop, she begins to transform herself into a new version of Finola to appease customer's inquiries. From wearing Finola's old clothing to picking up the Irish dialect, the new Finola makes a new life for herself and finds that she wasn't as happy with her old life as she always thought. As the story progresses, Sophie and Finola's ex-boyfriend and business partner, Liam, fall in love and Sophie plans to move to Ireland permanently. On Sophie's last day, she looks up to find Finola standing before her, ready to reclaim her old life and Liam. Sophie sacrifices her own happy to let Liam try to work things out with Finola, and eventually returns on Finola's wedding day. We won't spoil the ending though. Becoming Finola is a great novel, about real people and facing the truth about ourselves. A bit long, Becoming Finola could have probably had a few areas pared down, but overall is a great read with a funny, smart approach to all that it means to be a woman.