The Breakdown Lane

Written by:
Jacquelyn Mitchard
Narrated by:
Jacquelyn Mitchard

Abridged Audiobook

Ratings
Book
15
Narrator
3
Release Date
April 2005
Duration
12 hours 40 minutes
Summary
Where can a woman turn when her own life threatens to overwhelm her ability to keep her children safe? New York Times bestselling author Jacquelyn Mitchard takes the readers of her newest novel on a wry and moving journey of loss and healing.

Giving advice is what Julieanne does for a living -- every Sunday she doles it out in a column in her local Wisconsin paper. But when it comes to her personal life, Julie herself seems to have missed some clues. Having worked creatively to keep her twenty-year marriage to Leo fresh and exciting and to be a good mother, she is completely caught off guard when he tells her he needs to go on a ''sabbatical'' from their life together, leaving Julie and their three children behind. But it soon becomes clear that his leave of absence is meant to be permanent. Things take a turn for the worse when Julie is diagnosed with a serious illness and the children undertake a dangerous journey to find Leo -- before it's too late. As the known world sinks precariously from view, the clan must navigate their way through the shoals of love, guilt, and betrayal. Together, with the help of Leo's parents and Julie's best friend, they work their way back to solid ground and a new definition of family.

No one illuminates modern love, marriage, and parenting better than Jacquelyn Mitchard. Written with her trademark poignancy, humor, and insight, The Breakdown Lane is her most moving, eloquent, and life-affirming work yet.
Reviews
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As usual, Mitchard takes a situation that any of us could find ourselves in and provides a look into it from two very different angles. Loved having a heroine with such sass & humor, which tempered the sadness of the situation. The narration made a wide variety of characters so unique it was always clear who was speaking - so unfortunate that the talented Anna Fields is no longer with us.

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-Susan in NJ

To while away 2 hours of commute each work day, I "read" (aka - listen) to Audio Books. My latest read was "The Breakdown Lane". This book was extremely compelling. I found myself anxiously awaiting to be back in the car on my way to work each morning (isn't that must nuts!) to "read" - similar to not being able to put a book down. The author blended the main character story line, Julianne Steiner, into her son Gabe's journal readings - those journal readings being sometimes of events yet to occur. What a splendid read, Susan in NJ

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Anonymous

A GREAT book to listen to! Another terrific Anna Fields. Laughing, crying, fully entertained during long car rides. Get it!

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Anonymous

This book is a real gem. It will take you through the full range of emotions. You will laugh aloud, get angry, be sad, and not want to stop listening. Wonderful character portrayal. Realistic dialog. I only wish I could "discover" this novel all over again!

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Lismur

I enjoyed this book much more than I had expected. I ordered it because of the narrator, Anna Fields -- I really like her work. But I ended up liking the story for itself. The characters are interesting, and the author did a good job of showing differences in age and temperament with them. What one "normal" person sees as immoral, another "normal" person can perfectly justify. It was also an excellent (devastating) description of MS.

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Susan Mitchell

Wordy and rambling, and completely depressing, the first five tapes were more than enough to make me hit the "delete" box for the second half. The story is told through several different characters which are poorly read/portrayed and a plot that is exceedingly slow to get to anywhere.

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