I was surprised that I really enjoyed this book...I didn't expect to. I made the mistake of 'judging a book by it's cover' and had decided it would be sappy -- it wasn't. The characters and story are real and compelling.

I really liked this book and the way it blended a good story line with real life type experiences. Very engaging ( )

I liked this one . She reminds me a lot of Patti Callahan Henry and Mary Alice Monroe. ( )

The Richest Season is Maryann McFadden's debut novel. I received it through one of my favorite resources - Librarything.com's Early Reviewers.

Here's a little blurb from maryannmcfadden.com:
Sometimes you have to leave your life to find yourself again...
A lonely corporate wife who runs away from home. An elderly woman facing a devastating loss. A top executive adrift in the world after he’s fired. Set on beautiful Pawleys Island, South Carolina, here is a novel about second chances occurring at the most inopportune times in life. In three parallel journeys Joanna, Paul and Grace walk away from lives they thought they wanted, only to rediscover a part of themselves they’d all but forgotten.
The story had every element existing to be great. The author had the ability to paint breathtaking word pictures. The setting was everything I look for in a good summer read. The characters were believable. But there was just something missing...
I took a writing seminar in college as one of my English electives. It was possibly the best class I've ever been in. I learned more in those three credits than I ever have before. Yes, it made me a better writer, but it also made me a more discerning reader. The professor stressed one point throughout the class; it was: "If you learn nothing else here, know that you must show the reader what is happening...don't simply tell them."
I felt that McFadden's missing link was her lack of showing. She told a great story...but that's all she did was tell it. Sentences like, "It was just before the war had ended, and as she watched him coming their way, it appeared he was heading for her cousin Rose, who was sitting beside her." could have been much more artful if we had been shown the action instead of having it narrated to us as readers.
I'm not sure if I'm getting across what I am trying to say here, but while I enjoyed the book there were times that I was itching to move on to something that trusted my instinct as a reader and didn't have to spell out every single step for me (pardon the pun). ( )

From early on the main character, Johanna, had my sympathy when her corporate husband received his promotion to VP of his company, which would require another move. Having been in her shoes, I know well the feeling of living the life of a nomad, picking up every few years for your husband’s promotions and leaving bits of yourself behind. When a voice inside her told Johanna to leave (her children were adults), she did just that-she packed her bags and headed to Pawley’s Island, South Carolina, a place she had loved when visiting years before. While not a well thought out plan, Johanna begins to create a life of her own. She takes on caring for a Grace, an elderly woman who required a six month commitment in exchange for room and board, joins an environmental group who are out to save the loggerhead turtles and starts to write short articles for a newspaper. And as Johanna does these things, she begins to discover the woman she lost and what matters to her most in her life. While not recommending everyone go to such lengths, the journey is probably one that everyone should embark on once in their lives, even if only in little ways. ( )