When Bonnie returns to Australia following the death of her husband, she realises that financial security doesn’t guarantee fulfilment. She meets up with her two old school friends, who she hasn’t seen for forty years. Fran is a food writer, struggling with juggling her work, her finances, and her relationship with her adult children; and Sylvia is trapped in a loveless marriage to an Anglican minister who is hiding a big secret. Its revelation will shatter her.
As the three women renew their friendship, they also come together on an ambitious business venture which will see each woman reshape her life in ways she would never have imagined. Along the way there are challenges, shocks and tears for the trio, but there is also triumph and joy.
Food, Sex and Money is a women’s story with a difference – the age of the main characters, who are in the fifties. Whilst there are a range of other characters, the focus is squarely on these three women facing challenges which are a blend of those peculiar to their stage of lives and those faced by women (and men) of all ages. Each woman seems very real, with her own blend of strengths and weaknesses and readers will find themselves believing in these women and celebrating with them.
A novel which celebrates life in all its stages.
Food, Sex and Money, by Liz Byrski
Macmillan, 2005