Weltana, Oregon - Present Day

Jeanne Stewart is having a breakdown. The actual meltdown came when she stood in front of 834 advertising executives and proceeded to tell them that their jobs were useless. And it wasn't long after that when she was arrested for the assault of her long-time boyfriend, Jared Nunley, aka, Slick Dick, after she learned that he'd literally slept with multiple women. Jeanne's revenge on him included certain parts of Slick Dick's body, which, regretfully, were left in working order after her attack (we hear said attack involved a glue gun, peanut oil, and condoms <g>). Now the man is suing her for every penny she has, and then some. And as if that was not enough, Jeanne might go to prison for assaulting the weasel, which she would do over again in a heartbeat!

Even so, Jeanne has to continue on, but she can't live in Chicago. So, unable to face all the media attention, she packs it all in and heads for Oregon. On her way to Portland to be near her brother, Charlie, Jeanne stops at The Opera Man's Cafe in Weltana, where she orders pancakes. These light and fluffy delicacies harbor dear and tragic memories for Jeanne, but she orders them and takes the first bite of this breakfast treat that she’s had in twelve years. The chef and owner of the cafe, a man called Donovan, sings arias while he cooks. A friend of his, Rosvita Sanchez, goes around scrubbing germs, both real and non-existent ones. Jeanne decides she likes it here in Weltana, and when Donovan recommends Rosvita’s bed & breakfast, Jeanne jumps at the opportunity to hide away, walk by the river, and drink herself into oblivion. (What she really wants to do is drive her Bronco right into the Pacific Ocean, but she abstains.) For once, Jeanne is going to give in to her depression and let it take its toll on her. Here in these woods, Jeanne can scream out her anger and cry to her heart’s content, and no one will turn her in for acting out of the ordinary.

The only thing that puts a kink in Jeanne’s plans is the court-mandated anger management class she must take, which sends her on the forty-minute drive to Portland on a weekly basis. Here, she meets a mixed basket of personalities who are also students in the class. Jeanne has much to be angry about besides Slick Dick -- she just has to get through the anger so that she can heal again, but when life takes some unexpected turns, and she finds herself a willing accomplice to murder, Jeanne’s life gets so very complicated that it might never be unraveled.

THE LAST TIME I WAS ME is a long read, 404 delicious pages. Jeanne is a complicated character and finds herself in boatloads of trouble, mostly because she cannot keep her opinionated thoughts to herself. The secondary characters are special, especially Donovan and Rosvita, who become good friends. The people in Jeanne's anger management class are her psychologist, Emmaline, and the other patients, Becky, Soman, Drake, and Bradon. These people are all a little quirky, but they lend a heartwarming and humorous touch to this real-life story. I can't divulge too much of the plot, but what I can tell you is that you will not want to put this novel down as you get more and more immersed inside Jeanne's troubles. There is a touch of mystery and romance and the novel is just plain good reading!

Don't miss THE LAST TIME I WAS ME!

Diana Risso