8 Books About Starting Over

This thoughtful tale, told in two different time periods, tells the story of women who risked their lives to harvest grapes during World War I. But the caves of the Champagne region of France hid more than just wine bottles; it’s the perfect place to store deep dark secrets. And in present-day, Rosalyn uncovers a hidden cache of letters that bring these secrets to light and may just be the key to her own healing and a brand-new start.

In Anu Desai’s South Asian community, getting married young was what you did. And divorce is almost unheard of. That’s why it’s so hard that she did what she was “supposed” to do—and it didn’t work out. Now, in her thirties, she’s starting fresh after a separation from her husband and decides it’s time to follow her dreams and open up a yoga studio. But until Anu figures out what she wants, apart from her parents’ expectations (and her own), will she ever truly be happy?

One of the biggest obstacles holding women back is imposter syndrome—the belief that you aren’t actually good at something (when in reality, you excel at it). Ash Ambirge’s book is a guide to starting over—to getting rid of what is holding you back, to conquering imposter syndrome, and to leading the life you’ve always wanted to by practicing her philosophy of self-reliance.

If you’ve ever heard of Blackberry Farm, the renowned luxury resort in the Smoky Mountains, then you’ll want to take notice of this book. Kreis Beall helped create and make Blackberry Farm the “it” destination, but it wouldn’t have happened without her own fresh start. After the end of her marriage, Beall went on a personal journey to find her faith. She retreated to Blackberry Farm to find herself, and, in the process, found an entirely new life.

Sometimes, reinventions and fresh starts aren’t by choice—that’s what happens to Hugo Gardner when his wife announces she’s leaving him for a younger man. In his eighties, Gardner isn’t sure what to do with himself and looks to the past for solace. With a new perspective, he looks at the mistakes he’s made in life—and with a hint of new romance, sees that it might be possible to create an entirely new, and brighter, future for himself, even at his age.

Seventy is the new forty—that’s what the women in Terry McMillan’s latest blockbuster believe. At sixty-eight, Loretha Curry still lives a busy, fulfilling life. She has an amazing group of friends, a career she loves, and a husband who adores her. But when Loretha’s life unexpectedly changes, she must figure out how to pick up the pieces—after all, there’s nothing that says you can’t start over at any age.

Women are taught to be self-sacrificing from a very young age, but what kind of message does that send to our children? For years, Glennon Doyle played the role that society expected of her, until one day, she fell in love with a woman. That was her wake-up call to transform the way she lived, and the woman she was, and in this mix of a memoir and self-help book, Doyle shows readers how they can make their own radical changes to become the women they always meant to be and lead more fulfilling lives.

Starting over is in the title of this charming novel, and that’s exactly what it’s about. After Evvie Drake’s husband dies, her small Maine town thinks she’s in mourning—but what they don’t know is that she was planning on leaving her husband when she got the call that he’d died. When her best friend, who knows that Evvie is having some money troubles, offers to connect her with a friend of his, a major league baseball player who’s lost his mojo, it starts something that Evvie could never have predicted.