Title: The Overdue Life of Amy Byler Author: Kelly Harms 

• Genre: Feminist, Beach read, Romance, Contemporary
• Words to describe: Funny, witty, fun, thought-provoking
• Rating: 3/5 stars

Read if you…

• Want a fun, beach read
• Are in the mood for a witty and funny protagonist
• Like the idea of living in a bit city
• Enjoy contemporary romance

Amy Byler is a librarian, a mother of two, and…single. Her husband john left her and the kids three years ago to Hong Kong because he couldn’t deal with his life and had to find himself.

But then John comes back and he wants the kids for the summer. Amy has three months to herself – in New York City. Her friend works at a magazine and decides to host Amy’s new “momspringa.”

Amy goes wild.

She goes around town dating men, drinking, eating, reading, sightseeing, and doing everything she did when young and single and childless. She’s having the time of her life, but misses her daughter and son. She wrestles with feeling like she wants to live her life and being a mother, and alternates between guilt and confusion at leaving her children with their father for some months.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with The Overdue Life of Amy Byler. But it ended up being enlightening, which seems odd for a “beach read.” It was light, but there was a solemness to it – women still feel guilt for being anything but wives and mothers. They feel guilt for wanting something other than domestic life and a job that supports that domestic life.

And because of that, the book was worth more than I thought it would. It explored women liberation, femininity, and being yourself, while also being a wife, mother, friend, sister, and daughter.

Still Amy learns to take care not only of her family, but of herself, as a woman, as a person, and independent of her role as a mother and wife.