𝘈𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘢 𝘈𝘮𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘛𝘰𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘖𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘸𝘢. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘩𝘶𝘨𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘪𝘬𝘵𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘚𝘢𝘮𝘺 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘩𝘢. 𝘈𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘢 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘖𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘸𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥𝘭𝘺?

"Bridget Jones with a lot more wine! This story is hilarious, feel-good and relatable in all the best ways!" - Grace K @ HQ. She's just quit her high-flying job, and her marriage is coasting on fumes. Can Alice find a sense of purpose in the wreckage? ***** Alice's life isn't going to plan. She's tied to her phone, pointlessly managing PR for a sinking corporate megalith. She's become a bit player in her kids' lives, and her marriage is coasting on fumes. Forcing herself into action with a rash resignation, Alice sets out to make a positive impact on the world around her. But how? Meditation leads to napping, and her attempts to get closer to her teenage daughter result in the discovery of a secret that leaves her at a loss. As the months tick by and a sense of purpose continues to elude her, Alice finds herself forming bonds with the most unlikely characters: the young woman who panhandles outside her old office; the homeless boy who sits cross-legged outside the liquor store with his ginger cat; her own dog walker who, it turns out, knows a thing or two about developing a good crema. Testing the limits of marriage, motherhood and the Toronto subway system -- can Alice find her way into a purpose-driven life? Or will it all be one giant hangover? [*Wattpad Editor's Pick 2018*] [[word count: 70,000-80,000 words]] Readers say: "This had me laughing so loud that my sister came to check up on me to see if I'm OK!!!" "...the new Bridget Jones, a working woman's take on the digital age." About the Author: Working mother and red wine enthusiast, Renee lives in Toronto with her flawed but wonderful family (seriously, who left socks on the kitchen counter?) in a flawed but wonderful house (what *is* that smell in the basement?) where she writes flawed but wonderful stories about what it is to be a woman today.

A young boy and girl play chess as a way to deal with their troubles in 1980s Toronto. This was originally published in the final issue of Descant Magazine. The magazine is now defunct and the issue out of print.