Second Chance Ranch

Barbara Kennedy
AuthorHouse (2006)
ISBN 1420811371
Reviewed by Linda Benninghoff for Reader Views (12/06)

In "Second Chance Ranch" the heroine comes from a dysfunctional family--cold, alcoholic father and an almost monosyllabic mother who is fond of making pronouncements such as: "Your period will be coming soon." These negative statements seem to be followed by few positives or even small talk. With this background, it comes as a surprise when the narrator meets Paul, her husband-to-be.

Paul also comes from a difficult family. They have left him out of the will. His sister refers to him as a loser. The relationship of Paul and the heroine makes life full where once it was bleak, meager and dubious. All this, however, has the potential to change when Paul gets lung cancer.

The couple gets married anyway, and their courage in the face of this ordeal makes the novel worth reading.

Paul is in pain. He takes morphine. Sometimes he stops breathing and has to catch his breath. He and his wife lie in bed long hours watching television because he is too ill to move. Although the doctors predict that Paul has six months to live, he is still alive after two years. This is testimony to his wife’s devotion. She sees him through each tortured moment of his waking and sleeping life.

The novel does not stop with Paul’s death, but delves into grief and its gradual resolution. The wife has to cope with the rejection of the husband’s dysfunctional family. “He didn’t really love you, he was just using you,” Paul’s sister tells the heroine. A sense of doubt arises--did he really love her? But the novel’s answer is yes, and the book ends with affirmation.

I enjoyed this novel very much, especially since I just lost my friend to cancer. The idea of a second chance on a life that was full of misery is compelling. By the end of “Second Chance Ranch” many issues are resolved, and grief is expressed and explored. The novel can help readers cope with tragedy and loss. It is poetically written, engaging all five senses, and without clichés.

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