Days Of Awe by Lauren Fox (Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group)

Days of Awe have become a part of Izzy's life. Her life, at this time, definitely fits the Holy time of remorse and sorrow celebrated by the Jewish population. She and everyone in her family are deeply stirred by the death of Josie, a close friend of the family. Josie dies on an icy road in her car. She is a young and vibrant woman. I could feel her loss jump from the pages of the novel. In Days Of Awe by Lauren Fox, Josie's death seems to cause a compound of calamities in each characters life. Everything seems to go through rapid change. With this one person's death, it seems like the world has begun to spin out of control.

Not only does Izzy deal with the death of Josie she also goes through a separation from her husband. Izzy had no idea her marriage was headed for disaster. It's just another shock to her system. I had to wonder. What must it feel like to not have known your husband was falling out of love with you? There is also the fact that your close friend has just died. She is the one you would have talked to about this new truama in your life.

Like glasses falling out of the cupboard, another incident occurs in your life. One that will cause guilt and shame. Izzy has been extremely busy. She has missed the fact that her daughter is a chronic insomiac. Hannah screams out in her sleep. Chris, Izzy's husband, is on top of the situation. He seems to have heard the daughter's cries from the very beginning. This leaves Izzy feeling clueless and like a bad mommy. I think one of the worse pains a woman can feel is to learn that she missed experiencing the immediate pain her child has lived through.

There is also the painful realization that your husband thinks you haven't been a good wife. Chris tells Izzy that "darkness" always surrounds her. I can't write it the way Chris says it. I felt he had shot a bullet in to Izzy's stomach. I felt angry with Chris because he puts so much blame on Izzy. I didn't understand how Izzy could continue to sleep with him. Perhaps, it took time for her to come to grips with one more loss.

I really liked the way Lauren Fox handled a new relationship in the book between Cal and Izzy. At first, I didn't like Cal. He seemed like just some old guy looking for friends at a support meeting.  I also thought he seemed more like Helene's age and not Izzy's age. Helene is Izzy's mom. Really, all the time, he wanted to meet Izzy. Soon there times together seemed as sweet as an old fashioned romance. I experienced each tiny touch between the two. By the way, why does Izzy call her mom, Helene instead of mother or mom?

For all that happened I am left knowing that the loss of a friend is traumatic, and life doesn't stop and allow you to get off the merry-go-round to grieve one horrible moment in time. It just spills more stuff on top of you. Izzy called these calamities "accumulated snow." I am grateful to have been a part of this group of characters. I must leave with a word about Miss Reinhoffer, the cat. She made me laugh, and there were many other times I giggled at the author's "dark humor." laurenfoxwriter