Jennifer Gardner Trulson's 5 Loves and a Dud

September 11th. One date that will never be same in our minds after the horrific events in 2001. I'm sure we can all remember exactly where we were that terrible morning. Liz's husband's called and woke her up on his way to work to tell her to turn on the TV and Lisa called a few minutes later. We sat on the phone together that day and watched as the world as we knew it disappeared.

Now, on the tenth anniversary of that senseless tragedy comes a memoir by the widow of a Cantor Fitzgerald executive. And we felt that Jennifer's story is an important one to share as we reflect on the past ten years. You'll shed some tears for sure but we think it will be worth it.

Widowed at age 35 with two small children, Jennifer's story is one of sadness, but also courage and transformation-a tale of how to learn to love again after hitting rock bottom. We highly recommend that you grab a copy and check out why Publisher's Weekly said "This hard-hitting memoir achieves a balance between grief and life-affirming determination." We also love that she went on to found the Douglas B. Gardner Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping at-risk children in New York. In fact, a portion of the proceeds of Where You Left Me  will be donated to it.

Here's what you need to know about Where You Left Me: Lucky—that’s how Jennifer would describe herself. She had a successful law career, met the love of her life in Doug, married him, had an apartment in New York City, a house in the Hamptons, two beautiful children, and was still madly in love after nearly seven years of marriage. Jennifer was living the kind of idyllic life that cliches are made of.

Until Doug was killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center, and she became a widow at age thirty-five—a “9/11 widow,” no less, a member of a select group bound by sorrow, of which she wanted no part. Though completely devastated, Jennifer still considered herself blessed. Doug had loved her enough to last her a lifetime, and after his sudden death, she was done with the idea of romantic love—fully resigned to being a widowed single mother . . . until a chance encounter with a gregarious stranger changed everything. Without a clue how to handle this unexpected turn of events, Jennifer faced the question asked by anyone who has ever lost a loved one: Is it really possible to feel joy again, let alone love?

Sounds good to you? Then leave a comment and you'll be entered to win one of FIVE copies. (US Residents only on this one, Sorry!) We'll choose the winners on Sunday September 18th after 6pm PST.

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS: JENNIFER GARDNER TRULSON'S 5 LOVES AND A DUD

5 LOVES

1. Spin Class Like an addict jonesing for a fix, I cannot function without my regular morning indoor cycling class. There is nothing like a room filled with pony-tailed, Lycra-wearing warriors pounding out the beat to pulsating house music. I’m just not a yoga girl – I can’t lose myself in the quiet. But give me a four-minute climb to Jay Z’s “Empire State of Mind,” and I am on the road to nirvana.

2. Manhattan I grew up in Massachusetts, but moved to New York the first moment I could after graduating from law school. There is something symphonic about the hum and pace of this city. I love that New York is a sprawling metropolis, but a small town for those call it home. It doesn’t matter where one was raised, if you live here, you’re a New Yorker. That was most evident in the aftermath of the devastating attacks of September 11. No one was a stranger after that – with grit, humanity and boundless compassion, New Yorkers came together, resurrected our spirit and restored our faith in our great city.

3. Wint-O-Green Lifesavers. I have a glass bowl in my closet filled with the jumbo, individually-wrapped candies. I’ve been a fan of these green-packaged gems since I was a little girl; my parents used to send them to me in care packages at college. I’ve never taken to gum or those nuclear breath-freshening mints. And, if you take a bite out of one in front of a mirror in a dark room, green sparks come out of your mouth. Try it.

4. HBO/Showtime Original Series Seriously, what’s better than True Blood and Weeds? Or Curb Your Enthusiasm? Or the prematurely-cancelled Deadwood? Great writing and perfect casting make these and HBO/Showtime’s other weekly shows my must-see television. I’m counting the days until the premiere of Dexter.

5. Family holidays A typical week in our apartment looks like seven days of rush hour at Grand Central Station. My children are dashing from school to sports to social functions. My husband and I barely have a moment to wave hello/good-bye as one of us dons the chauffeur hat while the other doles out dollars like a cash machine. I’m sure this family drama plays out in most households, which is why we cherish our school vacation time. Holidays seem to be the only time we, as a family, are in the same place at the same time. It doesn’t matter where we go or not go, the point is to reconnect -- minus the computer and instant messaging, and remind ourselves how fortunate we are to be together. Kids grow up quickly; I’m doing my best to savor these last few years while they are still under my roof.

DUD

I absolutely cannot stand dog owners who refuse to clean up after their pooches. As a proud labra-doodle owner (the beautiful, Harley) who walks her dog around the blocks of our neighborhood, I find it utterly appalling to find “offerings” left by lazy owners along the sidewalks. C’mon people, please clean up! My shoes will thank you.

Thanks Jennifer! xo, L&L

To read more about Jennifer, head on over to her foundation's website or find her on Facebook.

Liane Moriarty's 5 Loves and a Dud

It's a party! We're so excited the fabulous Liane Moriarty is our guest on CLIND! Cue the streamers, balloons and the big band! We've been a fan of this international best-selling author since we read her novel, Three Wishes. And we are majorly in love with her latest, What Alice Forgot, a story about what happens when you're visited by your younger self and get a chance at a do-over. How many of us would love that?! Here's the skinny on What Alice Forgot:

Alice Love is twenty-nine years old, madly in love with her husband, and pregnant with their first child. So imagine her surprise when, after a fall, she comes to on the floor of a gym (a gym! she HATES the gym!) and discovers that she's actually thirty-nine, has three children, and is in the midst of an acrimonious divorce.

A knock on the head has misplaced ten years of her life, and Alice isn't sure she likes who she's become. It turns out, though, that forgetting might be the most memorable thing that has ever happened to Alice.

Sounds fabulous right? If you leave a comment, you'll be entered to win one of five copies. We'll randomly select the winners after 6pm EST on Monday, September 12.

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS...LIANE MORIARTY'S 5 LOVES AND A DUD

Am I meant to be writing about my relationship history here? In which case, I would need to change it to:  25 Duds and FINALLY, just when I was about to give up, a Love.  But perhaps ‘loves’ can mean whatever I want it to mean?  I’ve got that panicky exam question feeling, as if I’m about to miss the whole point. I may be overthinking this.  I’m the eldest child. We like to get things right.  Well, here goes:

LOVES

1.     Books, books, books.  From the musty-smelling classics with yellowing, delicate pages at Grandma’s house to the chunky, racy, paperbacks in my Dad’s study, I’ve always loved them with an obsessive passion.   The only time I’ve ever opened a gift and literally screamed with delight was when my sister gave me a new Anne Tyler book for Christmas and I didn’t even know she had a new one out.

2.     That first glorious hit of caffeine.   Fellow coffee addicts will understand. I guess I wouldn’t kill for my morning cup of coffee. I might steal. I’d definitely lie.

3.     Readers who write to me. I don’t know why I still haven’t written to any of my favourite authors now I know how wonderful it is to receive letters and emails from readers.  When I finish a book I love, I just greedily reach for the next one, whereas some people take the time to write and say what a book meant to them.  It’s the ultimate in good manners, and I’ll never take it for granted.      

4.     Google.  How in the world did we live without Google? I just Googled that question and wasted half an hour discovering that no-one knows how we lived without Google.  The other day a bird flew into my house and got trapped in the living room. I was panicking. The bird was panicking. His friends gathered at the windows, tapping their beaks against the glass, chirping, GET OUT, GET OUT! My children were thrilled, running about, flapping their arms. What did I do? I googled, ‘bird trapped in house’ and within seconds, I had a solution. (Google it if you want to know.)

5.     Listening to my children make each other laugh.  I had a lot of trouble getting and staying pregnant, and for many years I thought I might have to accept that I wouldn’t ever be a mother.  Now I have a 3 year old son and an eighteen month old daughter, and their wicked laughter is the sweetest sound I’ve ever heard. I wish I could send it back through time with a message to myself, “Listen to this.  It’s all going to be worth it.” Maybe the message got through and I heard them laughing in my dreams.   (Lucky I didn’t send back the sound of their tantrums.)

… and a DUD

This whole horrible aging business.  From what I understand, every day that goes by, I’m going to look and feel just a tiny bit worse.  Shouldn’t someone write a letter of complaint about that? Why haven’t we lobbied and legislated against it? (Yes, yes, I know the alternative is worse.)

That seemed like a really depressing note on which to end, so I turned to trusty Google and found this quote:

“I have enjoyed greatly the second blooming…suddenly you find – at the age of 50 say, - that a whole new life has opened before you.” Agatha Christie.

So maybe aging won’t be such a dud after all.  Thank you, Agatha, and I sure hope you’re right.

Thanks, Liane! xoxo, Liz & Lisa

To find out more about the lovely and talented Liane Moriarty, visit her website.

Claire LaZebnik's 5 Loves and a Dud

It's a new month. A new season. And before we know it, it will be a new year (WTF?).  So as much as we (and you!) loved our feature 5 Do's and a Do-Over, we've decided it's time for something else new. So-Beyonce style-let's get up on stage, shake our asses and reveal our newest feature...

5 Loves and a Dud!

Your favorite authors will be dishing about the things they can't live without and the one thing they can do without-- forevuh.

And we couldn't be more thrilled that Claire LaZebnik is the first author to take the plunge and share her list (a must-read. We especially love the bit about sleeping with a dog!). Claire has written several fabulous books including Knitting Under the Influence, If You Lived Here, You'd Be Home Now and the just released Families and Other Nonreturnable Gifts - a hilarious novel about a quirky family...

Keats Sedlak is the sanest member of her nutty nuclear family, but that isn’t saying much. Even though she’s in her twenties, she’s still constantly being summoned back home to help out her brilliant and eccentric parents.  Her two genius siblings are useless: her older sister’s long gone, and her younger brother hasn’t left the house in years.  The one constant in her life is her devoted long-term boyfriend, Tom, who provides a safe port during every familial storm.

Keats always knew that her parents’ marriage wasn’t ideal, but they’d managed to coexist in misery for so long that she assumed they’d stay together forever, so she’s pretty stunned to find out her mother’s filing for divorce and putting their beloved old house on the market.  Even more of a shock is the discovery that her mother has already plunged headfirst into the midlife dating pool, with three different men in her rotation and an unnerving tendency to stay out until the wee hours of the morning.

As her family falls apart, Keats has to reevaluate everything she’s ever assumed about her parents, her siblings, the life she’s made apart from them all, and, most importantly, the kind of love she wants for herself

Sound like a book you'd love? Well, lucky you! Because we have five copies to give away. Just leave a comment and be entered to win. We'll randomly select the 5 winners on Tuesday, September 6th after 6pm EST.  And now on to Claire's loves and a dud...

CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS...CLAIRE LAZEBNIK'S 5 LOVES AND A DUD

LOVES:

1. PRETZEL M&Ms.  You've got your salt, you've got your sugar, you've got your chocolate--all of life's essentials in one round, crunchy package.  I buy them in bulk, which is thrifty, and then I eat them in bulk, which is probably a mistake.  But if loving them is wrong, I don't want to be right.

2.  PANDORA: I'm still amazed at how the little people in my computer can read my mind once I load Pandora.  All I give them is one little song--one tiny clue to my taste--and then they play hour after hour of music I like.  The rare clunker only makes me appreciate how often they get it right.

3. THRIFT STORES.  Going to a thrift store is like going on a treasure hunt:  you hunt through racks and racks of stuff and suddenly stumble on something valuable.  Nothing costs more than a few dollars, even the good stuff, and what little money you spend goes to a good cause.  My all-time favorite is the OUT OF THE CLOSET chain.

4.  REREADING A FAVORITE OLD NOVEL.   I can't tell you how often I'll start a new book with high hopes only to give up halfway through.  When I start to wonder whether it's me--whether I just don't like to read anymore--I head to my bookshelves and pluck out an old favorite, something romantic and engrossing and inspiring.  And then I lose myself in it and remember that reading can be a pure joy.

5.  SLEEPING WITH A DOG.  And, no, I'm not talking about my husband.  I have two very sweet pups, a big gentle labrador and an energetic little poodle mix.  The big one's a good companion when my husband's out of town and I need someone of (almost) comparable size to take his place next to me, but the little one sleeps with me every night.  He curls up with his back against mine and that cozy warmth helps me drift off to sleep.

AND A DUD:

L.A. TRAFFIC.  Such a bummer.  The traffic on the West Side is like this BEAST in our lives.  It's like the troll who lives under the bridge--you know you're going to encounter him and you know that when you do, it's going to go badly for you, but sometimes you have no choice: you just have to cross that freakin' bridge and pay the freakin' toll.

To find out more about the funny and talented Claire LaZebnik, visit her website and follow her on Facebook and Twitter. And if you're a YA fan, definitely check out her debut YA novel, Epic Fail.

Thanks, Claire!

xoxo, Liz & Lisa