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To Love Again
Karen Wainwright, married and the mother of two teenagers, reenters the nursing profession by taking a job at a women's clinic.
Her first day on the job is unusual, to say the least. Caught in a cross-fire created by anti-abortion forces, she is arrested, along with the clinic director Dr. Joanna Jordon, and taken to jail.
To the horror of friends and family, Karen's arrest is recorded by television cameras. Quit immediately, orders husband Phillip. But Karen refuses.
And so begins her relationship with Joanna...
Joanna is undergoing her own conflicts with long-term partner Vicki, who has lost patience with Joanna's pro-choice activism and its perilous presence in their lives.
Friendship between Karen and Joanna becomes passionate attraction. But both women have carefully constructed worlds to lose: Joanna her long-term relationship with Vicki, and Karen her home and children.
Will Karen and Joanna find the courage To Love Again?
Her first day on the job is unusual, to say the least. Caught in a cross-fire created by anti-abortion forces, she is arrested, along with the clinic director Dr. Joanna Jordon, and taken to jail.
To the horror of friends and family, Karen's arrest is recorded by television cameras. Quit immediately, orders husband Phillip. But Karen refuses.
And so begins her relationship with Joanna...
Joanna is undergoing her own conflicts with long-term partner Vicki, who has lost patience with Joanna's pro-choice activism and its perilous presence in their lives.
Friendship between Karen and Joanna becomes passionate attraction. But both women have carefully constructed worlds to lose: Joanna her long-term relationship with Vicki, and Karen her home and children.
Will Karen and Joanna find the courage To Love Again?
Paperback
First published October 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 14, 2026
Edit: 4/13/2026
This book has lived in my head rent free for 4 years. I've grown a lot since my 19 year old self read this book. After 4 years of pondering sessions, I think I can finally articulate my feelings on it.
I have started to learned to try and meet books where they are at. I think part of me expected this book to be deeper then it was. I was quite obsessed with the ~perfect queer representation~ when I was 19. I have realized the error of my ways and started to really love pulpy gay stories like this one.
To Love Again really is a book about the fantasy of a woman whose believed she is heterosexual (Karen) running away with a hot progressive lesbian who runs an abortion clinic and operates as head doctor (Joanna).
Karen is married to an emotionally abusive with teenage sons. They are written kinda flat. I think the implications about having the two sons you raised turning out to be raging misogynists who, when the two parents finally get divorced, want nothing to do with their mother, is underdeveloped, and I think is a very interesting to potentially explore. But I also understand what the fantasy of To Love Again is. The book isn't about motherhood, it's about getting to start over from the beginning with nothing holding you back. So I'll let it slide.
If the book was just about formerly-heterosexual-marriage Karen getting to run away with a cool progressive lesbian abortion doctor, I think I would have minded a lot less, but Joanna's subplot is really where the book ends up falling apart.
Joanna is in a long term committed relationship with a lesbian lawyer (or a similar, more uptight profession. Her name also escapes me) who are no longer in love. Her partner wants her to leave her practice because of the danger that comes from the profession.
Obviously I don't think her partner is right to say that, but the narrative kinda just... treats this as the exact same as Karen's abusive, misogynistic husband. I know what the narrative is trying to do, make the partner more lower-case c conservative, turning her nose up at Joanna's very important but dangerous work. But it's not really.... done that well.
So when Joanna cheats on her long term partner, it's sorta supposed to be justified. But when her partner calls over and over at her hotel, in which she's actively cheating on said partner, it's doesn't really read as this sort of defiant act, it just kinda reads extremely defensive of those particular actions.
Especially since Karen leaves her husband in the end because he has a mistress the whole time. Like, Karen, girl, YOU are the mistress to another woman.
It's very funny, it reminds me of the worst gay people I know irl.
In the end, it's kinda grown on me more than anything, but I just don't think it's very well written to give it a higher review.
This book has lived in my head rent free for 4 years. I've grown a lot since my 19 year old self read this book. After 4 years of pondering sessions, I think I can finally articulate my feelings on it.
I have started to learned to try and meet books where they are at. I think part of me expected this book to be deeper then it was. I was quite obsessed with the ~perfect queer representation~ when I was 19. I have realized the error of my ways and started to really love pulpy gay stories like this one.
To Love Again really is a book about the fantasy of a woman whose believed she is heterosexual (Karen) running away with a hot progressive lesbian who runs an abortion clinic and operates as head doctor (Joanna).
Karen is married to an emotionally abusive with teenage sons. They are written kinda flat. I think the implications about having the two sons you raised turning out to be raging misogynists who, when the two parents finally get divorced, want nothing to do with their mother, is underdeveloped, and I think is a very interesting to potentially explore. But I also understand what the fantasy of To Love Again is. The book isn't about motherhood, it's about getting to start over from the beginning with nothing holding you back. So I'll let it slide.
If the book was just about formerly-heterosexual-marriage Karen getting to run away with a cool progressive lesbian abortion doctor, I think I would have minded a lot less, but Joanna's subplot is really where the book ends up falling apart.
Joanna is in a long term committed relationship with a lesbian lawyer (or a similar, more uptight profession. Her name also escapes me) who are no longer in love. Her partner wants her to leave her practice because of the danger that comes from the profession.
Obviously I don't think her partner is right to say that, but the narrative kinda just... treats this as the exact same as Karen's abusive, misogynistic husband. I know what the narrative is trying to do, make the partner more lower-case c conservative, turning her nose up at Joanna's very important but dangerous work. But it's not really.... done that well.
So when Joanna cheats on her long term partner, it's sorta supposed to be justified. But when her partner calls over and over at her hotel, in which she's actively cheating on said partner, it's doesn't really read as this sort of defiant act, it just kinda reads extremely defensive of those particular actions.
Especially since Karen leaves her husband in the end because he has a mistress the whole time. Like, Karen, girl, YOU are the mistress to another woman.
It's very funny, it reminds me of the worst gay people I know irl.
In the end, it's kinda grown on me more than anything, but I just don't think it's very well written to give it a higher review.
April 13, 2020
Karen has started volunteering at a woman clinic to get back into her nursing field after being a stay at home mother for her sons. Joanna is the head doctor that is having a failing relationship. These two women have an instant connection that makes me want to reconsider their future.
The writing is easy and understandable. Erotic at times and meaning full to see what one will do for love. I found that the characters at the time were strict all good or all bad being the protagonist Joanna and Karen's lovers are. I liked Nacy and her words of wisdom as well ask Karen's therapist.
Overall quick read that was enjoyable.
The writing is easy and understandable. Erotic at times and meaning full to see what one will do for love. I found that the characters at the time were strict all good or all bad being the protagonist Joanna and Karen's lovers are. I liked Nacy and her words of wisdom as well ask Karen's therapist.
Overall quick read that was enjoyable.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews