Getting to Happy, Terry McMillan
Getting to Happy, Terry McMillan
18 Rating(s)
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Getting to Happy

Author: Terry McMillan

Narrator: S. Epatha Merkerson, Gloria Reuben, LaChanze

Unabridged: 11 hr 28 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Published: 09/07/2010


Synopsis

   An exuberant return to the four unforgettable heroines of Waiting to Exhale—the novel that changed African American fiction forever.Terry McMillan's Waiting to Exhale was more than just a bestselling novel—its publication was a watershed moment in literary history. McMillan's sassy and vibrant story about four African American women struggling to find love and their place in the world touched a cultural nerve, inspired a blockbuster film, and generated a devoted audience.Now, McMillan revisits Savannah, Gloria, Bernadine, and Robin fifteen years later. Each is at her own midlife crossroads: Savannah has awakened to the fact that she's made too many concessions in her marriage, and decides to face life single again—at fifty-one. Bernadine has watched her megadivorce settlement dwindle, been swindled by her husband number two, and conned herself into thinking that a few pills will help distract her from her pain. Robin has an all-American case of shopaholism, while the big dream of her life—to wear a wedding dress—has gone unrealized. And for years, Gloria has taken happiness and security for granted. But being at the wrong place at the wrong time can change everything. All four are learning to heal past hurts and to reclaim their joy and their dreams; but they return to us full of spirit, sass, and faith in one another. They've exhaled: now they are learning to breathe.

About The Author

Terry McMillan is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Waiting to ExhaleA Day Late and a Dollar Short, and The Interruption of Everything, and the editor of Breaking Ice: An Anthology of Contemporary African-American Fiction.S. Epatha Merkerson is an American actress best known for her work on Law & Order (1993–2010). She has garnered a Golden Globe, an Emmy, a Screen Actors Guild Award, an Obie, and four NAACP Image Awards. She also works as a narrator whose credits include Getting to Happy by Terry McMillan and Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli.Gloria Reuben is a Canadian singer and actress. She has appeared on ER, Falling Skies, Mr. Robot, and Saints & Sinners, as well as in the film Lincoln.LaChanze is an American actress, singer, and dancer. She won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical in 2006 for her role as Celie in The Color Purple and has appeared on-screen in The Cosby Show, Sex and the City, and Law & Order: SVU, as well as in the Disney animated film Hercules.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Morgan on October 26, 2014

I have rarely been so disappointed by a novel before. McMillan has taken 4 strong, intelligent, independent women from Waiting to Exhale, and made 1 a drug addict, 1 a pushover mom/desperate single woman, 1 a widow, and 1 a divorcee. All of which wouldn't be the worst thing in literature, but McMill......more

Savannah, Bernadine, Gloria and Robin are back after 15 or 16 years to bring us up to date with their lives. After 15 years or so, you’d think these four women has found some happiness and piece, but sadly things started off for them all wrong. Savannah finally has a husband, but he’s kicked to the......more

Goodreads review by Jamie on November 13, 2011

Twenty years ago, I snuck my mom's copy of "Waiting to Exhale" out of her room and read it cover to cover. Of course, 14 year-old me couldn't relate to much, but I was blown away by the strength and vulnerability of these women. Life challenged them in ways I couldn't imagine then. Now, as I approac......more

Goodreads review by Nakia on February 13, 2016

Terry McMillan may be one of my favorite authors but this novel falls very short of what I expected from her. After having recently re-read Waiting to Exhale, the bar was set high as I anxiously turned the pages waiting to read a passage or something to happen in the story line that would make me la......more

Goodreads review by Rory on January 07, 2012

I'm not quite sure why this book had to be done? I really loved Waiting to Exhale and the ending was so pat and yet not happily ever after... So this book literally spends the first 50 pages deconstructing any and all gains from the first novel... Divorces, betrayals, and other means are used to tea......more


Quotes

“The Women of Waiting to Exhale have returned…McMillan fans won't be disappointed.”  — Dallas Morning News

 "It's great to meet up with old friends again." — People

 "Required reading for anyone who cared about Waiting to Exhale." — Miami Herald

 "Signature McMillan...[An] earthy, funny, personal voice." — Raleigh News & Observer

 "A phenomenal read." — San Francisco Bay View