Second Draft of My Life

by Sara Lewis

Forty-two years and five books into her life, Charlotte Dearborn abandons her noncommittal boyfriend and her sinking-ship writing career, and becomes an elementary school teacher. Sure, she's giving up her dream of being a famous novelist, but in exchange she'll find a stable income, job satisfaction, and maybe even love. At least that's how it'd work if she were a character in one of her novels. In real life, she's busy coping with twenty yelling first-graders, a teacher's lounge full of nasty coworkers, and a series of romantic misadventures that fall far, far short of the real thing.
Charlotte's struggle to navigate the waters of a new career, a new single life, and the loss of her identity as a writer make Second Draft of My Life a funny, compulsively readable gem. From an author The Boston Globe applauded as "very, very good on the business of falling in and out of love," it is part romantic comedy, part manual for living, and wholly triumphant.

Genres: Fiction, Chick Lit, Contemporary

320 pages, Paperback

First published April 30, 2002

About the author

Sara Lewis is the author of five novels, "The Best of Good", "Second Draft of My Life", "The Answer Is Yes", "But I Love You Anyway", and "Heart Conditions", as well as the collection "Trying to Smile and Other Stories". Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, McCall's, Redbook, Mademoiselle, Seventeen, Good Housekeeping" and other magazines as well as on National Public Radio. She lives in San Diego with her husband and two children.

Reviews

[Stina · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was so incredibly stupid that I can't even stand it. The main character is a snatch and no one, even her twin sister, would actually like her.

The author tried to be crafty by tying writing tips into the book, but this book was so shitty that it was the literary equivalent of a B movie, except it sucked more and wasn't campy and the author kept inserting stuff into it to try to legitimize the whole damn thing and OH MY GOD, it's terrible.

Also, this book was written in 2002 about a woman in her early 40's. Want to know what she's wearing? Even if you don't, you totally get to... the descriptions of her clothing are only outnumbered by the scenes of her being a total know-it-all bitch.

"The first day of school, I wore my red and yellow Hawaiian shirt and a pair of white painter's pants with my white high top sneakers."

Oh did you? Did you also put your hair in a freaking side ponytail with a banana clip? I swear Claudia from The Babysitter's Club wore this exact same outfit when she went for a soda with the dreamiest boy in Stony Brook. In 1988.

Holy shit.

[Amanda Nelson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Negative stars if I could. Awful. As a teacher, I’m offended at how easy this author tries (and fails) to make it look - like anyone can just hop into the profession. The characters suck. The writing is awful. Everything is unrealistic. Run far, far away.

[Jessica Thomas · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was generic and the main character was annoying. The descriptions of her outfits were horrendous!! The ending was abrupt and unbelievable. Luckily, it was a quick, easy read so I didn't waste too much time on it.

[Isaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

oh dear, i am glad i did not come here for the revues, i found this book in my local library, read a few pages, though this will do, i found it uplifting very funny and it made me cry, what more could you want.... PS I don't know the author,not related or work for the publisher etc.

[Viktoria Mirigliano · Rating 1 out of 5]

The main character has zero character development, the story line picks up, only to end with the most rushed ending I’ve ever read.

And as a teacher, I really couldn’t stand the way the author portrays teaching. One, the act that she acts like just up and becoming a teacher is easy as pie and anyone can do it was frustrating, and two she writes a self help teacher book within the book that is an absolute JOKE. It tells you what to wear- no jewelry, no patterns, pale neutral colors only. What is this 1940?

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first I didn’t think I’d like this book, but as the book progressed and poor Charlotte Dearborn bumbled her way from writer to first grade teacher, I became engaged. I found the book to be well written, frustrating at times with the main characters ineptitude, but loved her progression from who site was to who she became.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read it on a trip. Mindless reading, dumb story, but light enough to be a bit enjoyable.

[Paula Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book kind of grew on me. At first, I was annoyed with the main character's many setbacks. But she got smarter as the book went on. I thouroughly enjoyed the book!

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the ending!

[Sanet Odendaal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Refreshing read

I loved the honesty. A great "starting over" read. Also,the true portrayal of teaching today had me giggling many times!

[Stefanie Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

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[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although this book was not filled with excitement or mystery, I found it to be a very pleasant and easy read. I was surprised at how easily I flew through it. It was not boring but rather real and honest. It made me laugh and smile a lot. It shows that change isn't always what we expect it to be especially when it's a change we choose to make with rose colored glasses on. The character of Charlotte is likeable and very human with her idyllic hopes. In the end life is unpredictable, unexpected at best, and when you least expect it or stop looking so hard sometimes everything just falls into place and you can achieve what you dream. I recommend this one to anyone looking for a light mellow read on a rainy day with a cup of your favorite hot brew :)

[Becky · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ok... this is really bad, I will usually give a book until about page 50 before abandoning it, but I could only make it to page 16 before slamming it shut and declaring it a worthless pile.

So the narrator character quits her 'career' as a writer and breaks up with her boyfriend abruptly (basically in the same day), and there seems to be no realistic emotions afterward.

The Point of No Return is when the narrator, only right after leaving her boyfriend after 4 years, starts telling her twin sister that she is going to meet "The One" really soon and she knows it. Wouldn't you have at least a brief period of depression after such dramatic life changes? It made absolutely no sense. The writing style is bland too, like eating the insides of a pillow.

[Khin Hnin · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an alright book for me. No suspense or anything; it was as if reading someone else's journal/diary. It was still enjoyable and I like how the romance was unpredictable. I couldn't guess whom she would end up with or remain single until near the ending. She turned her life around somewhat, but it only happened realllyyy near the ending and I feel like I didn't get to enjoy her new self enough. It was somewhat inspirational and it kept me thinking about it for awhile.

One thing that annoyed me was almost every chapter starts with incidents that led to her giving up her writing career. It was boring and I skipped through most of it. It was really unnecessary to the plot...

[Mbrooke · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found the main character to be annoying on so many levels, noteably her naivety and social awkwardness. It was hard to believe she was supposed to be someone in her mid-40s. The most unbelievable thing for me was she just ups and quits her job, decides to be a teacher (because, hey why not?) and then lands a job immediately. The ending was abrupt, it felt like the author just wanted to be finished with the book and just ended it. Essentially, the story was bland, boring and lacked any substance.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book seemed to start off a little bit slow for me. Once I hit about halfway through the plot was more interesting. As a teacher I seemed to relate in many ways to the character. It was great to see the similarities. Finally, I usually end up disappointed with endings of books, but was pleasantly suprised with the turn of events.

[Usha · Rating 2 out of 5]

seemed fine while I was reading it (it was quite a quick read) but I felt sickly after finishing it. absolutely no character progression (Charlotte goes from 0-100 real quick), and honestly she's kind of unlikable and the descriptions of her almost arise pity in the reader.. ending was okay but everything happened too fast

[Abby · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up of the library shelf because the premise of a writer who gives up writing to become a 1st grade teacher sounded intriguing.

I was very disapointed by how teachers were shown in the book and the ending was abrupt and unbelieveale. Not worth your time.

[Anika · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was sooooo different from The Answer is Yes. As a former teacher, I liked it, but it didn't have the charm of the other one.
UPDATE - I just re-read this book and enjoyed it more the second time around. It's a sweet, sweet story with a fallible and lovable heroine.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a 3 compared to all books but a 4 for its genre (not quite chick lit but definitely not serious literature). Might be especially interesting for anyone who is or wants to be a novelist or a teacher (it's about a woman making a career transition from the former to the latter).

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the premise of a writer recreating herself through her writing. A very fresh and original idea. Lewis' writing style is gorgeous - streamlined, clean and spare - and her stories are always engaging, with tons of heart. My favorite author!

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a light, easy read that got me through a difficult period when I needed simple distraction.

I don't know why she spends so many pages discussing her drab clothing choices, but nonetheless, I was entertained.

[CR · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you don't mind bad endings, this book is recommendable. This book was okay until that point.

[Dalene McDonald · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an OK beach read. A little too trite for me.

[Kat Taylor]

This was very time appropriate for me as I change my work direction.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute story about a struggling novelist who gives up on her writing career to teach first grade in a Southern California town. Not fine literature but a quick, fun read.

[T. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Forgettable.

[Julia]

Quick read. Fun read. Rushed ending that was a bit too "magical" for my taste.

If the author was ever a teacher, her experiences were none like I've ever heard.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great summer read for teachers..true to life descriptions of classroom life.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

liked her writing, will search out her other books