The Good Woman Audiobook

The firstborn of a large Irish-American family, Meg Brennan Roberts is a successful publicist, faithful wife, and doting mother who prides herself on always making the right decisions. But years of being "the good woman" have taken a toll and though her winery career thrives, Meg feels burned out and empty, and more disconnected than ever from her increasingly distant husband. Lonely and disheartened, she attends the London Wine Fair with her boss, ruggedly handsome vintner, Chad Hallahan. It's here, alone together in an exotic city, far from "real" life, that Chad confesses his long-standing desire for Meg.

Overwhelmed, flattered, and desperately confused, Meg returns home, only to suddenly question every choice she's ever made, especially that of her marriage. For Meg, something's got to give, and for once in her life she flees her responsibilities—but with consequences as reckless and irreversible as they are liberating. Now she must decide whether being the person everyone needs is worth losing the woman she was meant to be.

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"Spoilers. Meg Roberts is used to having everything under control--her job, her three kids, her marriage, her family. She is the ultra-responsible oldest sister who never lets herself be anything more than totally prepared. In her role as a winery publicist, she has excelled, and has never let her think of her hot boss Chad as anything more than her boss, appreciating his good looks from afar, until she confides in him while on a business trip. Soon the gap between the intimacy she once shared with her husband and what she could and does want becomes more and more glaring, and she doesn't so much decide to have an affair as let herself get swept away by Chad's charisma. She leads a double life while trying to ask herself the bigger questions, while also grappling with her mother's cancer and her sisters' expectations of her, trying to still be a "good" wife and mother while following her heart. Porter deftly portrays this dilemma and especially Meg's feelings of guilt and estrangement from her husband. This is a bittersweet story because ultimately Meg is presented with two choices with no truly ideal outcome, but by stepping out of her comfort zone she has to both confront issues from her past that have haunted her, and ask herself what she wants out of life. There's a very telling scene where her father tells her that she's always been the one to put pressure on herself to be perfect, even as a toddler, that truly shows what Porter does best. An excellent read (prepare to get sucked into the story and not put it down until you're done), and I will definitely be reading the next book in the series, The Good Daughter."

— Rachel (5 out of 5 stars)