“You have to be here. I can’t be on the premises without an owner or tenant present. Wouldn’t want to be accused of walking off with anything.” He looks around the kitchen. “Not that there’s anything here to tempt me.”
“You’re a jerk.”
Bob glances down at the photo again. “Will your husband be back soon?”
“He died a year ago. So, no.”
I gain immense satisfaction in seeing his cheeks darken a bit.
Abish Miller is a mess. But you might be too if you were a twenty-one-year-old widow with a dysfunctional family, an overpowering boss, and a torturous return to the singles’ scene. Training for the marathon she and her husband never got to run is about the only time she can forget about her problems.
But life won’t leave her alone. It throws Bob Hartley, a recently divorced young father, into her living room and then her ward. And when her irritation turns into attraction, she’s sure that it must be some sort of cosmic joke, especially when it seems he loathes her! Feeling like she just keeps hitting the wall, Abish must learn to push past her fears or she’ll never achieve her personal best.
Defined by sharp wit and an authentic voice, Mile 21 shows the despair of giving up on hope—and the joy of choosing it again.
In the beginning of Mile 21 Abish comes off as hard, sarcastic and irresponsible. As the story unfolded and I started learning what made Abish who she was. She is a 21 year old widow, everyone thinks she should be able to get past that and go on with life. Her mother seams like a harsh woman, her younger sister has practically perfect life, and she knows her father was against her getting married. Her boss seems like he would be difficult to work with.
When she is evicted from her apartment, her parents send her to live with her eccentric aunt. She runs away and ends up depending on her Boss to help her find school approved housing, and getting back in the single scene.
Abish is a runner and is training for a marathon, she can't seem to run more than 21 miles.
I enjoyed going on Abish's journey with her, and watching her grow and change and learn that there can be life after her husband died, and that her family loves her and her boss/ Bishop is not such a bad guy.
I recommend this to anyone, it decidedly LDS, but the story is one that everyone can relate to on some level.
You can buy Mile 21 by Sarah Dunster at www.amazon.com, www.deseretbook.com or www.barnesandnoble.com. Or check with your local library for inter library loan.
To learn more about Sarah Dunster CLICK HERE
