Life as I Know It by Melanie Rose

This was the 2nd book I read for the book club. Better than the first, but still a little lacking. This book is about a woman named Jessica who is struck by lightening. When she wakes up in the hospital, she finds herself in another woman's body. As a single woman, Jessica has to adapt to being a wife and mother of 4 children. My impression:

This was an interesting book. Like "Something Borrowed" the ending was a little too convenient for my taste, but the story and the process that Jessica went through to grow as a person is worth discussing.

The question of God was brought up, but it didn't seem to be resolved. Jessica thinks that there is some sort of supreme being out there somewhere, but she's unclear as to how it operates, what involvement is has in our day-to-day lives. Jessica determines that her soul has been brought into Lauren's body because her family needs Lauren. There is no specific reference to how it happened, but it seemed to be determined that the children needed a mother so much that Jessica was brought into Lauren's life. But that seems to be where the explanation ends, there is no specific reference to Jessica finding God, or some deeper understanding of a supreme being, through the experience.

One aspect of the book that I really liked is that Jessica is able to enter into this family of strangers and become the mother to the four children. She recognizes their needs and is willing to make sacrifices in her life as Jessica in order to be a good mother to the children, and the genuine interest she takes in their lives.

One of the aspect of the book that I found very disappointing (and I am starting to get the feeling that many modern books are like this) was Jessica's relationship with Dan. It was superficially based on love at first sight, tingling feelings, and sex. I didn't see anything that made me feel that they learned about each other's characters or really knew anything about each other, other than a few historical facts.