I'll Get By

by Patti Gaustad Procopi

Starting over means figuring out where you are, how you got there, and where to go from here.
When Jane’s life falls apart in a most spectacular fashion, she questions how she got to this point. How did she manage to choose a best friend who would do the most clichéd thing ever and run off with her husband? What blinded her to the abuse her husband, Frank, heaped upon her over decades of marriage?
The answers to her life’s questions might be found in the generations before her. From her grandmother, Mamere, who threw away her family heritage to marry a baseball player, to her mother, Evangeline, who knew within moments of meeting John during WWII that he was the love of her life.
The choices the women in her family made alter Jane’s outlook on love and life, but she learns that ultimately, strong women survive and love is cultivated in unexpected places.

302 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 6, 2022

About the author

I am an army brat and so appropriately I was born on an army post. I spent the next 26 years of my life moving around. I moved fifteen times and attended schools on three different continents and college on two.
After graduating from college with a degree in history and literature, I returned to Frankfurt, Germany which was my Father's last duty station. I worked there until I married and moved to Virginia.
I've been pretty stationary since that move though I did move back to Germany for four additional years.
My husband, Greg, and I had three daughters which we raised in a beautiful rural community along with numerous dogs and cats.
I worked for two history museums for 32 years. When not writing I love to garden, do yoga and photograph birds, including the family of Osprey that live on the creek in our back yard. I also volunteer as a raptor rescuer for a wildlife rehab facility.
Life is never dull.

Reviews

[Donna Norman-Carbone · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a heartwarming story about generational dysfunction and the will to break out of family patterns. Loved the grandmother/granddaughter aspect of the story especially because it reminded me of my own relationship with my grandmother.

[Lisa Franco · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a story about a woman who has been wronged in so many ways, from her family to her love relationships, yet manages to ultimately find true love and change the course of her life for the better. The author really makes you empathetic for the main character, Jane. Throughout the book you are rooting for her to pull through and find her happiness. It was easy to read, and especially toward the end, I didn't want to put it down because I wanted to find out how Jane's story turned out. A beautiful story, from start to finish.

[Northern Light · Rating 3 out of 5]

MoThis is the story of Jane and firstly we learn about her family before her. This is helpful to understand a lot of why she's how she is.
Jane moves around a lot as a child so can never really settle down.
As an adult she thinks she's now got the life she wants but of course life never turns out how we think it will.
There are some lovely characters like old Joe who Jane meets when staying with her grandmother.
This is an easy gentle book to read and has no violence or bad language.
It some ways it's almost like nothing seems to happen at times but of course it does. We learn about betrayal, loyalty and friendship along the way. Most of all we walk alongside her as she goes through the travails of life.
I did find the prologue unhelpful as it gave away a major plotline.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Kathy Kasunich · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ll Get By takes you on a generational journey of the ups and downs of relationships in one family and how they deal with their situations. It is a beautifully written story in which the characters are relatable and full of personality. It’s about life and emits love, laughter, disdain and happiness.

Sent from my iPhone

[Linda Hallam · Rating 5 out of 5]

While reading “I’ll Get By,” the reader follows the narrator as she proceeds through life from an early age through her later years, facing let downs but rising up to make the most of her life. It is written in an honest, flowing style which calls forth diverse emotions. The reader feels as if she knows Jane and can relate to the injustices life throws at her as well as her joyful, triumphant moments.

[Nan Nichols · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slow going at the beginning but improved. Worth reading.

[Jill · Rating 1 out of 5]

This started so good and stayed strong for about the first half of the book. Then, it spiraled downhill and I was nearly unable to finish. So a disappointment.

[Jessica Haines · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It showed different relationships through generations & how women can overcome relationship problems. I love how the different relationships were explained through the story.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.