As Good As It Got by Isabel Sharpe

Camp Kinsonu. It’s beautiful landscape off the coast of Maine, fresh air and shimmering lake is the perfect place to renew one’s spirit. It’s the perfect retreat for suddenly single women hoping to discover new beginnings and a way to get their lives back on track.

However for three women, who become cabin mates with absolutely nothing in common, it’s less than idyllic.  They have only come at the insistence of others who believe such a place will help lighten their emotional baggage. The ladies, Ann, Cindy and Martha, don’t think they belong at the camp with the other “damaged” women. They believe they’re fine, but they have a lot to learn. In As Good As It Got, author Isabel Sharpe tells an easy to read, entertaining story about situations real women often face.

Sharpe’s main character is Ann Redding, who’s tough no nonsense attitude is perfect for the corporate board room, but unsettling for the tranquil atmosphere of this retreat. Her husband’s death is the cause of Ann’s status as a suddenly single woman and to say she is cynical would be quite the understatement. However, even in her emotional suit of armor, Ann still manages to bond with roommates Cindy, who’s adulterous husband finally leaves her for good (or does he?) and Martha, a shy overweight, kind-hearted woman who keeps her love life shrouded in secrecy. Even Dinah, the fourth cabin mate who has gone through men like paper cups and is the only one who actually wants to be at the camp, finds a connection with the others.

As in all women’s fiction, the story is about relationships and in As Good As It Got the relationship focuses on sisterhood.  Together the ladies learn a valuable lesson: The men in our lives shouldn’t determine who we are, who we become or make us less than who we should be.