Book 1 in the Terrible Love Memoirs
Perfect on paper but crumbling inside, Dr. Emily Johnson appears to have it all: a thriving dental practice, two beautiful sons, and a stable marriage to her college sweetheart. But beneath the polished veneer of her upper Midwest life, Emily is suffocating. As her parents’ health rapidly declines and her practice demands escalate, she finds herself going through the motions, haunted by the growing realization that she’s spent her entire life trying to be who everyone else needed her to be.
When a series of professional development seminars brings her into the orbit of a charismatic stranger, Emily is blindsided by feelings she thought herself incapable of experiencing. Their brief but intense affair shatters her carefully constructed world, forcing her to confront uncomfortable truths about love, desire, and the life she’s chosen versus the life she always dreamed of living.
Set against the backdrop of Washington D.C.’s cherry blossom season and the frozen landscapes of Minnesota, this story explores what happens when a woman who’s spent her life being “good” finally allows herself to acknowledge her own wants and needs.
As Emily grapples with passionate love, family obligation, and the search for authentic identity, she must decide whether to remain in her safe but unfulfilling life or begin dismantling everything.
More than just a story about infidelity or midlife crisis, this powerful debut novel examines the universal struggle between duty and desire, asking the question: Is it ever too late to become who you might have been?