A story about healing after infidelity, second chances, and finding courage in midlife
I had wanted to write long-form fiction for years, but I lacked confidence. You can read more about that here, and how I eventually overcame it. What finally pushed me to write my first novel, Breaking Eggshells, was not confidence, but circumstance.
Sometimes life throws you into the air and does not quite catch you on the way down. For me, part of healing from that fall was writing.
When Breaking Eggshells was published, many friends and acquaintances assumed the characters were based on me or people I knew. That was not the case.
Yes, like Amanda in the novel, my then husband admitted to an affair. And yes, I wrote the book in the aftermath of that revelation. But while I drew on the emotions and confusion of that time, the story itself is fiction. It is not autobiography.
What writing did give me was access to something raw and real. As I explored Amanda’s fictional heartbreak, I found myself rooting for her. I began to understand how what feels like the worst possible thing that could happen can, in time, become the springboard for a new life.
When a marriage ends, especially after infidelity, it can feel like a bereavement. You lose not only the person, but the life you thought you had and the future you imagined. The shock can be overwhelming. I remember telling friends that it felt as though the rug had been pulled from under me, that my thoughts were like a bowl of tangled spaghetti, impossible to separate into anything coherent.
Everyone heals at a different rate. Every story is unique.
Healing After Infidelity and Divorce in Midlife
Writing Amanda allowed me not only to draw on my own emotions, but to imagine how someone with different family dynamics and pressures might respond. In the novel, it takes her time to form a plan. Without encouragement from a family member, she might have remained frozen in shock and despondency.
Her true turning point comes when she decides to visit a branch of her family she has always been told to keep at arm’s length. That journey becomes symbolic of something much larger. It is the moment she begins to throw off the weight of obligation, to travel thousands of miles toward people she has never met, and towards a version of herself she has never allowed to emerge.
It is the first time she says no. The first time she chooses herself.
Not everyone has the opportunity or the support to make such a dramatic change. In real life, recovery after divorce or betrayal can be painfully slow. In those early days, simply getting up, putting one foot in front of the other, and cooking for my son felt like a full day’s achievement. I had some amazing friends who more than stepped up, and pretty much carried me through this challenging time. I’m so grateful for them. I suspect, though, that other people thought I was coping better than I was. I put on a good show.
Looking back, I would not recommend that approach. If you are going through something similar, tell people how hard it is. Do not pretend. Bravery does not earn medals in these situations. Honesty earns support.
In Breaking Eggshells, Amanda rebuilds her life and finds happiness. Because I love a novel with a hopeful ending, I also made sure to test her. I allowed shadows from her past to creep back and threaten what she had built. But ultimately, this is women’s fiction about resilience and second chances. Amanda wakes up in time. She saves herself.
One of the greatest gifts of writing this book has been the messages from women who tell me they felt seen. That Amanda’s journey echoed their own. That the story gave language to something they had struggled to articulate.
As much as I would wish no one had to endure heartbreak, I am constantly reminded that women are extraordinarily strong. We bend. We doubt. We untangle ourselves slowly. But we rise.
If you have not yet read Breaking Eggshells, you can buy it here. It is also available to read free with Kindle Unlimited. And if stories about resilience, second chances and complicated family dynamics speak to you, you can subscribe to my newsletter here for updates, behind-the-scenes insights and exclusive reader content.
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