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Escaping
As a young woman, Australian-born Henrietta taylor searched the world for Mr Right: the perfect husband with whom she could have a happy family and a house with a white picket fence. When she met Norman, her dreams all seemed to come true. But then disaster struck, leaving her a bereft widow with two small children and little idea of how to look after them Ñ or herself. Searching for a way of escaping from her current life, she packed her bags and took the children off to France. In a tiny village in Provence, Veuve (Widow) taylor, as she is known, finds a new circle of friends, an unexpected role as the proprietor of three charming guesthouses, and an unorthodox relationship with the man she calls the Latin Lover. Along the way she discovers that the path to happiness can sometimes turn into a very unconventional journey. told with candour and refreshingly self-deprecating humour, Escaping is the story of a fairytale gone wrong, its tragic consequences, and its surprising and triumphant aftermath.
320 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 23, 2006
21 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 6, 2025
The book was such a light heartening read, such a real story. I loved all the stories and travels, with all the ups and downs. The author doesn’t hold back with sharing all the good times and the bad times. Her story is an inspiration and makes me want to visit Provence ASAP! Makes me realise that you shouldn’t hold back on life from fear but take risks and enjoy life.
December 11, 2021
Henrietta has had a good, solid upbringing in a typical Australian town, travels widely at a young age, is intelligent, has incredibly supportive friends and family as well as a good self awareness.
She acknowledges that she has an eating disorder and is an alcoholic, and seeks medical and psychological support. There are a lot of descriptions about drinking and very little about how the support she has sought helps her. Henrietta reflects the that she seldom listens to advice, although she wishes she had.
Henrietta trains as a teacher, has a relationship with a Latin lover then marries another teacher. Her life is portrayed a perfect fairy tale which matches her dreams.
She stops work and after a couple of years on ivf, she conceives naturally and gives birth to two children. After another couple of years, her husband dies of cancer.
This devastating period of trauma resulted in separation and her children are fostered for a period. Henrietta reconnects with her Latin lover, who left her just prior to her marriage and caused her devastating heartbreak.
While I can empathise with the loss of her husband, the shock of suddenly becoming a solo parent, and can understand that her long term poor mental health issues combine to shatter her resilience, her description of this devastating time is contradictory and incredibly self centred. Important information is missing.
A lot of my empathy is eroded when there is no description for example, on how her children are impacted by their father's death - according to her they are fine and well cared for. Nor do we learn anything about her terminally ill husband who was apparently the centre of her life. She portrays her husband first as perfect, then too needy, then as a villain. Apparently the Latin lover is just a friend. It all rings hollow.
After her husband dies, Henrietta struggles to grieve, still can't cope with her children and contemplates suicide. She has a dramatic breakdown in public.
She is shocked that her husband's will gives her and the children a lifelong stipend controlled by his sister as executive. Henrietta knows she is emotionally unstable and lacks any financial literacy, which makes this arrangement seem reasonable. The lack of freedom to do what she wants focusses her attention, so she contests the will and settles out of court for better access to her endowment.
To bond with her children and start the road to emotional recovery, she sells her husband's car and takes the children travelling to see family in Scotland and elsewhere for a month. The children are given every indulgence. On the way she hooks up again with the Latin lover.
Henrietta come across, by her own admission, and that of friends and family, as a spoiled, selfish brat who escapes responsibility. The rest of the book hardly wavers from this fact.
The second half of the book is thankfully more outward looking as Henrietta buys a house in an influential suburb of Sydney, puts the children into private school and spends a family holiday in France.
One minute she hates her new life, the next she loves it. She really is only doing this as her husband would have wanted it. She does not like the showy status symbols of her new found community. She stupidly (her words) agrees to get involved in the school where she meets snobby people who turn out to be lovely.
On her term long holiday she regains her relationship with her children while she obsessively plays the stock exchange and wins another windfall. She impulsively uses this to buy three homes, two of which she intends to run as guest homes.
Henrietta is fluent in French, the children are in a French school and have a private tutor, but her focus on earning money means she is shocked that they have not learned French. This why she decides to move her family to France for a year or two.
Henriettas constant emotive decision making, self absorption, contradictions and disorganization continue.
Her Latin lover, despite being clear that he would rather stay in Sydney, moves to France with her and takes up the role of parenting her and her children.
His generosity allows Henrietta to embark on major renovations to one property. Luckily the renovations are overseen by a man who knows what he is doing, including how to deal with her, despite Henrietta's attempts to undermine him by creating yet more unnecessary drama.
Her need for attention and total control do her no favours as the stress of the renovations impacts on family life. She bitterly complains that her Latin lover gives financial advice but let's her make all decisions, which is precisely what she wants anyway. There is no mention of the impact of her appalling behaviour on the children.
It is now at least 5 years since her husband's death and 3 years basically living with the Latin lover, but still she falls to pieces every anniversary of her husband's death.
At these times she sees her husband, aka guardian angel, in the form of strangers whom she flings herself at and smothers in kisses. How disappointed she is to find it's not him and to realize again her husband is dead.
We learn little about the effect of her frequent mind swings on her dyslexic son, or her capable daughter. Nor do we find out anything about her children on holiday with the Latin lover as a family unit.
Henrietta has a wonderful time on shopping sprees, but when her lover wants to explore the local culture, she'd rather he went alone. One minute, Henrietta wants her lover to tell her he loves her (she tells him this often), the next minute, she can't wait for him to leave. Even Henrietta can't stand the sound of her shrill voice.
Henrietta appears to have resolved her eating disorder but not her alcoholism. She has no need to work but doesn't want her children to do nothing but wait for their father's inheritance.
These noble thoughts are given a reality check as her father adroitly comments that she had never had to work hard at anything. Henrietta's lack of gratitude, tantrums, self absorption and self pity continue.
Although Henrietta says she wants to be responsible and sets herself on a path to be so, she makes a big deal about the work involved in a life she chooses as she washes bedding etc for guests.
Finally, she makes an effort to learn some new skills and the renovations are complete. The Latin lover heads back to Sydney and they continue their long distance, long term "marriage" of convenience. It's still possible she will move back to Sydney, her lover and family after another year or so if the business fails. If not, she may finally have grown a backbone.
I was left wondering about how or if she addressed her underlying mental health issues, and mood swings, and I wanted to find out more about her husband's and children's perspectives.
As a descent into and recovery from depression, it does a reasonable job. Some of the travelogue descriptions were excellent. I didn't experience the self depreciating humour alluded to in the cover blurb.
Overall, it's an easy to read story of an "escape" from responsibility with glaring, unsatisfying gaps. Perhaps the gaps are there to protect the children and the perfect dream of her husband's memory. Sadly this diminishes their role in her life, making her statements of how important they are seem trite. I lost a lot of empathy for Henrietta early on and she did little to regain it, which stopped me from rallying alongside her in her journey to become independent.
Henrietta wants us to believe her husband is an angel who robbed her of her rights on his deathbed and whom she loves so much she can never marry again while she has a long term affair with a man who acts as her husband and father to her children immediately after her husband dies.
Meanwhile she justifies long holidays overseas as necessary for emotional healing and lives a comfortable life, while bemoaning her fate, relying heavily on others, behaving appallingly and taking moralistic swipes at other equally priveledge women.
I'm sure there are a lot of women like Henrietta, so perhaps this book has value as a close look of life in a sheltered, privileged bubble of self entitlement when reality hits home.
She acknowledges that she has an eating disorder and is an alcoholic, and seeks medical and psychological support. There are a lot of descriptions about drinking and very little about how the support she has sought helps her. Henrietta reflects the that she seldom listens to advice, although she wishes she had.
Henrietta trains as a teacher, has a relationship with a Latin lover then marries another teacher. Her life is portrayed a perfect fairy tale which matches her dreams.
She stops work and after a couple of years on ivf, she conceives naturally and gives birth to two children. After another couple of years, her husband dies of cancer.
This devastating period of trauma resulted in separation and her children are fostered for a period. Henrietta reconnects with her Latin lover, who left her just prior to her marriage and caused her devastating heartbreak.
While I can empathise with the loss of her husband, the shock of suddenly becoming a solo parent, and can understand that her long term poor mental health issues combine to shatter her resilience, her description of this devastating time is contradictory and incredibly self centred. Important information is missing.
A lot of my empathy is eroded when there is no description for example, on how her children are impacted by their father's death - according to her they are fine and well cared for. Nor do we learn anything about her terminally ill husband who was apparently the centre of her life. She portrays her husband first as perfect, then too needy, then as a villain. Apparently the Latin lover is just a friend. It all rings hollow.
After her husband dies, Henrietta struggles to grieve, still can't cope with her children and contemplates suicide. She has a dramatic breakdown in public.
She is shocked that her husband's will gives her and the children a lifelong stipend controlled by his sister as executive. Henrietta knows she is emotionally unstable and lacks any financial literacy, which makes this arrangement seem reasonable. The lack of freedom to do what she wants focusses her attention, so she contests the will and settles out of court for better access to her endowment.
To bond with her children and start the road to emotional recovery, she sells her husband's car and takes the children travelling to see family in Scotland and elsewhere for a month. The children are given every indulgence. On the way she hooks up again with the Latin lover.
Henrietta come across, by her own admission, and that of friends and family, as a spoiled, selfish brat who escapes responsibility. The rest of the book hardly wavers from this fact.
The second half of the book is thankfully more outward looking as Henrietta buys a house in an influential suburb of Sydney, puts the children into private school and spends a family holiday in France.
One minute she hates her new life, the next she loves it. She really is only doing this as her husband would have wanted it. She does not like the showy status symbols of her new found community. She stupidly (her words) agrees to get involved in the school where she meets snobby people who turn out to be lovely.
On her term long holiday she regains her relationship with her children while she obsessively plays the stock exchange and wins another windfall. She impulsively uses this to buy three homes, two of which she intends to run as guest homes.
Henrietta is fluent in French, the children are in a French school and have a private tutor, but her focus on earning money means she is shocked that they have not learned French. This why she decides to move her family to France for a year or two.
Henriettas constant emotive decision making, self absorption, contradictions and disorganization continue.
Her Latin lover, despite being clear that he would rather stay in Sydney, moves to France with her and takes up the role of parenting her and her children.
His generosity allows Henrietta to embark on major renovations to one property. Luckily the renovations are overseen by a man who knows what he is doing, including how to deal with her, despite Henrietta's attempts to undermine him by creating yet more unnecessary drama.
Her need for attention and total control do her no favours as the stress of the renovations impacts on family life. She bitterly complains that her Latin lover gives financial advice but let's her make all decisions, which is precisely what she wants anyway. There is no mention of the impact of her appalling behaviour on the children.
It is now at least 5 years since her husband's death and 3 years basically living with the Latin lover, but still she falls to pieces every anniversary of her husband's death.
At these times she sees her husband, aka guardian angel, in the form of strangers whom she flings herself at and smothers in kisses. How disappointed she is to find it's not him and to realize again her husband is dead.
We learn little about the effect of her frequent mind swings on her dyslexic son, or her capable daughter. Nor do we find out anything about her children on holiday with the Latin lover as a family unit.
Henrietta has a wonderful time on shopping sprees, but when her lover wants to explore the local culture, she'd rather he went alone. One minute, Henrietta wants her lover to tell her he loves her (she tells him this often), the next minute, she can't wait for him to leave. Even Henrietta can't stand the sound of her shrill voice.
Henrietta appears to have resolved her eating disorder but not her alcoholism. She has no need to work but doesn't want her children to do nothing but wait for their father's inheritance.
These noble thoughts are given a reality check as her father adroitly comments that she had never had to work hard at anything. Henrietta's lack of gratitude, tantrums, self absorption and self pity continue.
Although Henrietta says she wants to be responsible and sets herself on a path to be so, she makes a big deal about the work involved in a life she chooses as she washes bedding etc for guests.
Finally, she makes an effort to learn some new skills and the renovations are complete. The Latin lover heads back to Sydney and they continue their long distance, long term "marriage" of convenience. It's still possible she will move back to Sydney, her lover and family after another year or so if the business fails. If not, she may finally have grown a backbone.
I was left wondering about how or if she addressed her underlying mental health issues, and mood swings, and I wanted to find out more about her husband's and children's perspectives.
As a descent into and recovery from depression, it does a reasonable job. Some of the travelogue descriptions were excellent. I didn't experience the self depreciating humour alluded to in the cover blurb.
Overall, it's an easy to read story of an "escape" from responsibility with glaring, unsatisfying gaps. Perhaps the gaps are there to protect the children and the perfect dream of her husband's memory. Sadly this diminishes their role in her life, making her statements of how important they are seem trite. I lost a lot of empathy for Henrietta early on and she did little to regain it, which stopped me from rallying alongside her in her journey to become independent.
Henrietta wants us to believe her husband is an angel who robbed her of her rights on his deathbed and whom she loves so much she can never marry again while she has a long term affair with a man who acts as her husband and father to her children immediately after her husband dies.
Meanwhile she justifies long holidays overseas as necessary for emotional healing and lives a comfortable life, while bemoaning her fate, relying heavily on others, behaving appallingly and taking moralistic swipes at other equally priveledge women.
I'm sure there are a lot of women like Henrietta, so perhaps this book has value as a close look of life in a sheltered, privileged bubble of self entitlement when reality hits home.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews