May 23 2006
REVIEW: Do They Wear High Heels in Heaven by Erica Orloff
Dear Ms. Orloff:
Keishon blogged the other day about books that make you cry and whether they are to be avoided and embraced. We decided that it is all about expectations. The title tells the ultimate conclusion to properly prepare the reader but I definitely wished it turned out different. I was touched and charmed by this story of great friendship, loss and recovery.
The story is almost more about Michael, the best friend, than it is about Lily. One element in romances that is often overlooked is the power of friendships. I don’t know many women who don’t have close friends and this book is about how friends who are like family members can get you through anything.
Michael and Lily have been friends for 20 years. They have seen each other through the AIDS scare of the 80s, her divorce and now her cancer. The story is told from both Michael and Lily's POV and it is about Lily’s struggle with cancer, her fears for her children’s future, and her mourning of life itself. I don't know that anyone's life is free from the cancer taint. This story does not delve deeply beyond the surface of the cancer but it is enough to show us the sadness of loss and the joy of life.
Ironically, both Michael and Lily find someone in the late stages of her cancer and knowing that Michael wouldn't totally be alone helped me through it. It's not a book I will read again soon, but I will read it again someday, if only to evoke those feelings of joy and sadness once again. This story really touched me and isn't that the best praise you can give a book. A – for your book.
Best regaards,
Jane
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May 24, 2006 @ 09:52:25
Best regaards,
Jane
Are these regards coming from the Netherlands?
I stay far far away from books that make me cry and after you told me about this one I decided there was a good chance I’d never read it. Especially since the last Erica Orloff book I read also made me cry. That doesn’t go over well in the office.
May 24, 2006 @ 10:02:54
I avoided this book as well for the time being. I did read Elizabeth Berg’s A Time For Sleep that featured another young woman with breast cancer. Very good book and yes, it will make you cry but at the same time, it will inspire you to live life to the fullest.
May 29, 2006 @ 17:03:24
Hi Jane:
A friend forwarded me this site . . . thank you for your “Dear Author” review. What a neat concept.
As for making readers cry . . . I can tell you that it took me nearly three years to decide what would happen to these two friends, and it was perceptive of you that this was really the story of Michael–of those you leave behind. But I don’t take making readers cry lightly. I can’t tell you how many emails I have gotten from survivors, their daughters, sisters, etc. It’s been an amazing journey with this book, and that, I can say, is the most inspiring thing. There is a resiliency we all share.
Anyway . . . I’m glad I was sent your link. Thanks.
E
Nov 26, 2006 @ 06:00:47
Good observation, your ideas are right on.
Dear Author.Com | I’m an Ass
Feb 05, 2007 @ 13:56:19
[...] reading Do They Wear High Heels in Heaven, I went to Erica Orloff’s site to see what was coming next. It was a young adult book called, [...]