Both Sides of Love

Twenty-one-year-old Lizzie Adler had everything a young woman could want: she was beautiful, bright, and had both a fun and faithful best friend and a handsome boyfriend with whom she was deeply in love. In one fell swoop, calamity strikes, stripping Lizzie of all that she holds dear. While driving with her best friend, Nan, en route to a party, Lizzie collides with another car.

The results are devastating: Nan doesn't survive the accident, while Lizzie is forever crippled and disfigured. Lizzie undergoes scores of surgeries and endures ample physical therapy, which ultimately leave her with a face and body she can no longer recognize.

Meanwhile, Daniel has just recently left Lizzie to stay with his ailing grandparents in England. He intended to return to her arms after just one summer. Little did he know that, after months of silence from his beloved, he would receive a cold, curt break-up letter, devoid of explanation.

Unable to bear the pain brought on by memories of who she used to be, Lizzie casts her former identity aside and decides to go by the name of Beth.

Fast forward twelve years, and Beth is now an almost-happily-married stay-at-home mom with a five-year-old daughter, Stacy. Boredom and pressure from her husband, Alan prompt Beth to join Stacy's school's PTA. There, she meets Noreen: the first woman she is able to connect with since Nan's death so many years ago. Beth is delighted to have finally found someone with whom to face the travails of womanhood.

Unfortunately, friendship with Noreen comes at an unexpected-and painfully high- price.

"Both Sides of Love" is a poignant exploration of some of life's most potent, discomfiting questions. How much are you willing to sacrifice for a friend? Is there such a thing as true love, or "The One?" Is it really possible to bounce back from tragedy-to experience rebirth?

Funny, candid, and full of surprises, "Both Sides of Love" is a must-read for anyone who has ever loved, lost, and loved again.