Memoirs of a Widowed Mistress: A Love Story Blog Tour

 
Welcome to another Pump Up Your Book blog tour! I’ve participated in several of these tours recently and always have such a good time. So be sure to watch for more in the future!

Now, for the tour … Today, I am helping to promote this fascinating memoir by first-time author Megan van Eyck.

From the back of the book:

“Megan van Eyck is your average suburban mom with a good husband, two beautiful kids, and a nice home. A reunion with college friends puts her on a plane to Hawaii next to Carlos, an attractive older married man. Phone numbers are exchanged. She thinks better of following up with him, but her curiosity gets the best of her. With one phone call, followed by a casual lunch, a five-and-a-half year long love affair was born.”

Just my opinion:

I was a little apprehensive about reading this book when I first received it. To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect. After all, I’ve known women – and men – who have been caught up in similar situations. But I was curious. How was Megan going to describe this on-going relationship she lived with for more than five years?

I was, in fact, very surprised at how open and candid she was in the book. Here was a woman who continued to maintain a marriage at the same time as she “carried on” an illicit affair with a man who also was very married. Granted, they both had issues with their spouses that left them dissatisfied and lonely. However, I’ve always believed that if you are at the point where you are seeking an outside relationship, it’s time to call it quits. Yet, these two lovers each had their own reasons for remaining in their marriages that, on the surface, seem to make sense.

This memoir seemed so very sad to me. I could understand why Megan and Carlos fell in love with each other and I rooted for them throughout the book. I wanted them to find a way to be together without the ties to their spouses. Perhaps if Carlos hadn’t become ill, it may have eventually occurred. His death left her begging for some sort of closure. As the Other Woman, she wasn’t able to be there with him at the hospital or attend his funeral. She wasn’t able to gather family around her in that time of need for comfort. That was reserved for his wife.

Of course, as time passed, his wife and her husband found out about the affair. In her husband’s case, it was because he found a chapter to the book she was writing … her memoir. Her plan was to tell him once a publisher accepted the manuscript. At that point, yes, she would have to tell him because it was all going to be brought to the public’s attention.

A part of her still loved her husband. He was just unable to satisfy her emotional needs, which led her to the arms of another man. He wasn’t interested in putting forth that sort of effort and blamed all their marital problems on her. He did spend time with their children, but he checked out on being together with her – so much so that he didn’t care when she left for days to visit her “girlfriends” and take trips around the world with them. As a stay-at-home mom, he simply saw them as some time away for her and with her out of the house, he didn’t have to worry about dealing with any of her needs.

That’s why I found Megan’s book so sad. There are so many other options for couples in trouble and her husband wanted nothing to do with any of them. So, instead, she turned to someone who made her feel appreciated, beautiful, sexy and needed. It’s too bad it all ended so tragically.

Anyone who has wondered why affairs happen should read Megan’s book for a unique perspective that is insightful and honest. Be aware, though, there are a variety of sex scenes that are quite explicit, but their purpose is to add depth to the book. And they do that quite well.

To check out other blogs on the tour, visit Pump Up Your Book.

If you'd like more information about purchasing Megan's book, click on this link.