{"product_id":"2940151402088","title":"The Bridge Club, A Novel","description":"THE BRIDGE CLUB - Synopsis\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePlaying bridge with the same women for 40 years isn’t just about the cards. Not with this group.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom the wild days of the psychedelic ‘60’s to the sometimes still wild days in their sixties, the eight women of the tongue-in-cheek Bridge Club meet each month. They aren’t necessarily each other’s best friend, but their connection is unwavering. At the ‘group’ sixtieth birthday weekend, each woman is challenged to choose one particular time in those 40 years when the BC, as they call it, came to her rescue:  a personal SOS, as it were. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe first chapter establishes the Bridge Club’s roots in the late 1960’s, relates the foundation of their friendship, and takes the reader to their 60th birthday weekend celebration.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEach of the following eight chapters focuses on an individual SOS and the Bridge Club’s response to it. The issues are diverse: coming out of the closet in the ‘70’s \/ sailing  around the world for eight years but still being at the monthly bridge club night via cassette tapes \/ meeting a biological mother in the ‘80’s \/ fighting alcoholism \/ becoming a young widow after the death of a middle-aged spouse \/ cosmetic surgery \/ breast cancer in the ‘90’s \/ internet porn threatening a marriage in the ‘00’s. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the tenth and final chapter, a shocking reality is faced that pushes the limits of the women’s beliefs and values and could possibly place the Bridge Club at risk of criminal prosecution. Their unique, non-judgmental, alliance is put to an unthinkable test. A diagnosis of early, rapidly advancing, Alzheimer’s disease is the unexpected hand dealt which results in an unconventional decision by the one afflicted. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe women are reminded of the frequency in recent years this disease has been part of their conversations and how often they have nodded in agreement to comments such as “Just shoot me,” or “Get me some pills”.  The reality is not so easy to accept.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAfter much soul-searching, they agree to honour the request for a “last best time” at their annual ski weekend. The identity of the Bridge Club member who chooses self-deliverance, as she calls it, is never divulged and it’s up to the readers to reach their own conclusion or not.  It could have been any one of these friends, just as it could happen to any one of us. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe bottom line of the book is that it's a story about a friendship that never falters. Never.","brand":"Patricia Sands","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47112854012144,"sku":"2940151402088","price":4.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940151402088_p0.jpg?v=1764010640","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940151402088","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}