The Wednesday Group

February 1, 2015
Five womenLizzy, Hannah, Gail, Bridget, and Flaviaare gathered together to form a support group, led by grad student Kathryn, who's mentored by her university department head. The women are different in age, background, and circumstances, their sole bond being that they are married to sex addicts who have betrayed them. Much of the narrative centers on Hannah, whose experience with the problem is longest (her fianc', Adam, confessed his addiction the week before their wedding) and is the only one of the group with children. Propelled by crises, the narrative gains suspense in plot threads revolving around Hannah's nine-year-old daughter and around Gail, the upstanding judge who finds the sweets that comfort her are no longer sufficient. Despite its subject, there is nothing salacious in this novel with its emphasis on healing and, in particular, what women in such situations can do for themselves. Focused on therapy, this first novel would be stronger if its characters, especially the men, had more depth. Chick lit of an unusual sort.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

September 1, 2014

British author True is making eyes pop with this first novel about five women who meet in a therapy group, where they examine what it's like to be married to sex addicts. (Maybe their husbands should be in therapy, too?) Major publicity.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2015

This debut brings together five women whose husbands are sex addicts. Each wife has decided to "stand by her man," and try to make her marriage work despite the seriousness of her mate's transgressions. Support group leader Kathryn is a graduate student working under her advisor, the esteemed Dr. O'Reilly. When O'Reilly insists that Kathryn include Gail (a prominent judge married to a college professor who keeps having affairs with his students) in the therapy, Kathryn bristles and their relationship takes a contentious turn. The other women in the group include Hannah, whose husband can't stop meeting men in public restrooms for quick hookups; Lizzy, married to a porn addict who won't have sex with her; Bridget, whose husband has sex online with many women; and Flavia, whose spouse keeps getting in trouble for groping women on the subway. None of the participants really wants to be there, but after a few weeks they start to form a strange bond and rely on one another for support and friendship, despite their differing backgrounds. While the story line is salacious and titillating, the disjointed writing is hard to follow at times. VERDICT A great plot concept that doesn't quite come together as it should.--Beth Gibbs, Davidson, NC

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.