The Bridge Club: A Novel
by Patricia Sands
How far would you go to help a close friend? Is there a place where you might draw the line and simply have to say no?
Eight women. Four decades of friendship. One unimaginable request.
Where can you find a story about friendship, laughter and the good things in life that also touches on alcoholism, infidelity, porn addiction, illness and grief? For many women, it’s often within their own circle of friends. Whether your BFFs are in their twenties or are seniors, everyone has a story.
The Bridge Club reminds us of the complexities of women’s friendships through an entertaining and often moving tale of eight women whose lives intersect once a month initially to play the game of bridge. What began as one night turns into four decades that span the segments of a woman’s journey from youthful optimism to embracing the challenges and opportunities presented in life’s later years.
Based loosely on the author’s own bridge club, the story weaves the reader through a maze of life’s inevitable scenarios.
This is a novel for anyone who values friendship. Not simply the “Hi, how are you?” type of friendship but rather the kind that weathers all sorts of storms, unselfishly celebrates triumphs, and hums along year after year with never an unkind word. It does exist.
If you have such a friendship in your life you will relate to the women in The Bridge Club. If you don’t, perhaps the story will inspire you to search for it.
Throughout the story each of the characters faces challenges and change in her life. The Bridge Club emphasizes how honest and loyal friendship helped to enable these changes and how these women empowered and learned from each other in the process.
Through laughter, tears, and everything in between the story meets life head on and affirms that building a strong foundation of friendship is a priceless asset.
Patricia Sands lives in Toronto, Canada and has degrees from the University of Waterloo and York University. With a happily blended family of seven adult children and, at last count, six grandchildren, life is full and time is short. Beginning with her first Kodak Brownie camera at the age of six, she has told stories all of her life through photography. Travel photography has been her primary "focus" after her favourite subjects- her children and grandchildren. Widowed at age 43, Patricia returned to university for a degree in Education and became an elementary school teacher before remarrying a few years later. Much to her surprise four years ago, she began to write and her debut novel The Bridge Club has just been published through iUniverse. Currently at work on her second novel, Patricia admits the writing muse has possessed her. She is particularly drawn to the rewarding friendships of women and the challenges many embrace once their families are grown. Her writing stresses the importance of friendship through every stage of life and she relishes the opportunity to tell stories of people who face unexpected circumstances and have the courage to open new doors no matter what their age. One of the rewards of publishing her writing are the responses she receives from readers who talk about their own lifelong or strong friendships. There is nothing better, she notes, than to hear someone describe how they were touched by or related to her writing. "It's never too late to begin something new," she enthuses. "As the saying goes, just do it!"
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