Starting Now by Debbie Macomber FIC MACOMBER

This is the latest book in Debbie Macomber's Blossom Street Series, which is number nine. Don't worry if you haven't read any of the other books in the series, as each book has new characters, but they are all tied together through the yarn store, A Good Yarn, and you will see some old faces, if you have read the rest of the series. Debbie Macomber is known romance, which is in this book, but I would not classify this book as a romance.

Libby Morgan is sure when she gets called into her boss's office that she is going to be made a partner in the law firm that she has worked so hard for during the last six years. Instead, she finds out that she is one of the lawyers that they will be laying off, due to the recession. Disappointed is no where close to what Libby feels. She feels betrayed and rejected, and as she searches for a job for months with no prospects in sight, she also starts to feel unwanted and depressed.

Being unemployed does lead Libby down some roads that she never expected, but they are roads that have a dramatic impact on what it means to her to "have a life." It all starts when Libby follows her friend Robin into A Good Yarn. The owner, Lydia Goetz, and her daughter, Casey, tell Libby about the preemie hats they make for and donate to the babies at the hospitals in Seattle. Libby learned to knit from her mother, as she lay in bed dying from cancer, and after her mother's death, Libby never picked up her knitting needles again. Being in the store, Libby is inspired to pick up knitting needles again, and she decides to start by helping to make the preemie hats. After going with Casey and her friend, Ava, to drop the hats off at the hospital, Libby meets Doctor Phillip Stone, of whom she has a bad first impression, and she meets the nurse, Sharon, who talks Libby into volunteering to rock the newborn babies.

Libby's volunteer work does a great job to repair the depression she feels and helping Ava fulfills another part of herself that Libby didn't know she needed. Libby also starts spending time with Phillip Stone, after they have a chance to talk out their bad first meeting. Phillip also gives Libby an idea that will help her future employment. As things start to come together in Libby's life, she finds that "starting now," isn't as scary as she might have thought the day she lost her job. Libby's story is the main story, but there is also the story of her friend, Robin. Libby's changing life influences Robin and the way she is living her life, too.

I listened to this book, and it is a very gentle, quick, and absorbing read. The reader, Abby Craden, does an excellent job, even with the men's and teenagers' voices. I was right there with Libby as situation after situation came up that helped her grow a little bit, and I cheered her on the whole way. I personally need to start over with The Shop on Blossom Street and get caught up.