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Long Enough to Love You

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Good enough: most of us unknowingly settle for it. But is it truly enough to survive a marriage?

Decision made, Jenn was ready to confront her husband about the fate of their marriage. But when unspeakable tragedy strikes and she finds herself learning of a family history she had no clue about, she begins to look at her decision on her relationship with her husband differently, and maybe even starts second guessing her decision. 


But then a trip down memory lane through her diary, reliving her first love, leaves her questioning everything and making her decision even harder. And then that first love, Tripp, is suddenly back in her life. Jenn finds herself contemplating fighting for a life that is safe and simple, or rediscovering herself without everything she’s known for the last 30 years of her life. 


Safe and simple, it’s pretty much what most of us are drawn to. It’s also what can make this story relatable to a lot of people. Even not having been through this exact situation, anyone who has ever been in a long-term relationship can relate to at least some of the thoughts and feelings Jenn experiences. Routines, comfort, safety - they all have a way of preoccupying you and hiding the fact that you have needs that are unmet. 


This one tugged at my heartstrings. I haven’t been in the situation that she was in, but I could feel the emotion through her words. It takes a lot of courage to come face to face with the realizations that Jenn had made about her marriage, her happiness, and her life. 


I went back and forth on understanding Jenn and being frustrated with her. On one hand she was making a tough decision on putting her happiness first, while also expressing what she needed from Mark and being willing to work on their marriage. But on the other hand I sometimes felt like she wasn’t willing to understand Mark in the way he processed emotions and expressed himself. For everything Mark did to show he was trying, she would recognize it for a second and then follow it up with a “but.”


I constantly felt torn about Jenn’s feelings and actions. But I think that goes to show the effectiveness of the writing in this book. Jenn was just as torn the whole time, constantly battling with herself about those same feelings and actions I was feeling towards her. So in some ways I was experiencing those feelings along with her. And I think that’s necessary in order to connect with the story that’s being told - to understand the difficulty of this situation, even if you’ve never experienced it yourself. 


Overall, this book was emotional and inspiring. I was rooting for Jenn and Mark, which is why I often felt so much frustration towards Jenn, despite her feelings being natural. But she was extremely conflicted, trying to fight for her marriage knowing it still wouldn’t bring her true happiness in the end. It was inspiring how she recognized the need to put herself first and do what it took to find true happiness for herself.

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I’m an avid reader with a slight obsession for anything romance or thriller. If it’s romance AND thriller, I’ll likely become your next biggest fan 😊

On Opening Doors

About the author

Long Enough to Love You is Pursell's fourth book. On Becoming Me: Memoir of an 80's Teenager (2021) was #1 on Amazon's women's biographies & memoirs. The novella Company Clown was #1 in Satire Fiction. Harvard is her most downloaded book with all books downloaded over 10,000 times in 2022. view profile

Published on February 09, 2023

70000 words

Contains mild explicit content ⚠️

Genre: Contemporary Romance

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