An Ordinary Life

Author: Amanda Prowse

Published by: Amazon Publishing UK/Lake Union Publishing

Genre: Women's Fiction

Publish Date: February 9th, 2021 

Rating: 4.5 stars


“At 94 years old, Molly Collway lays in her hospital bed after a stroke and fall have broken her body. But her mind, still filled with life, explores the memories of her past, the good, the bad, and the extraordinary.”

An Ordinary Life explores a life lived, love lost, and sacrifices of life. Molly, at 94, is sharing with us the memories and happy times of her life. Unfortunately, the life she lived was one that I wouldn't look back on favorably. In one moment, we are reading about a woman who has had an incredible life, sure, but we are also reading about a woman who put others first, much to the detriment of her own happiness. Please bear with me on this.

As the main protagonist, Molly is completely extraordinary; she is intelligent, witty, and completely selfless. However, that selflessness is to a fault. We begin in 1944 when Molly meets the love of her life, Johan, the brother of her best friend Geer, and over a few months, we watch her fall in love. From what we see of him, Johan, a soldier in the war, is in love with her and speaks of spending the rest of his life with her. Soon after, Molly discovers that she is pregnant and tries to get in touch with Johan, who was stationed in Devon, to tell him the good news. Molly is nervous but believes that everything will be okay. She has Johan after all, only to discover later that day that he died.

I believe this is the turning point for Molly because everything after this point is put in place to ensure that Molly is never happy again. She has her son, and her mother threatens to kick her out on the streets. Geer, the one person she believed she could rely on and who was hurting as much as she is - blames Molly for her brother's death.

All Molly has is her sister Joyce, who offers to help take care of her son, Joe, until the war is over and Molly can earn enough money to make a life with him. Molly enters an amazing part of her life, which finds her helping in the war. It's incredible, and I loved reading about this important time in history and her mission. However, when she returns from her time being apart of the war, everything comes together, and it isn't for the better.

Continuing An Ordinary Life after this point filled me with a mix of emotions that I felt fought against each other. It filled me with such sadness for our main protagonist and, at the same time, made me in awe by the type of person she is. Sadly, I couldn't help but also feel a bit of pity on her behalf and even anger...quite a bit of anger. While I don't want to spoil the rest of this book, instead, I want to put forward an interesting question. Is it better to live a full life only knowing a sliver of happiness while ensuring the happiness of others? Or is it better to put your own happiness first?

An Ordinary Life was written by Amanda Prowse and be found online through Bookshop.org, which allows you to support local independent bookstores. It is also available through major book retailers.