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Sleepwalking In Daylight    by Elizabeth Flock Amazon.com order for
Sleepwalking In Daylight
by Elizabeth Flock
Order:  USA  Can
Mira, 2009 (2009)
Hardcover, e-Book
* *   Reviewed by Joan Burton

Samantha and Bob Friedman married young, just out of college. They bought a house in the suburbs of Chicago, two streets over from their best friends Lynn and Mike. Samantha worked as a pharmaceutical rep and Bob designed shoes for a large sports company. Their life centered around their friends and their home. Sam became bored with her job and quit, focusing on getting pregnant and starting a family. Things did not go as planned and eventually they adopted a two-year-old girl named Cammy. Cammy was a child with special needs and demanded a lot of work and attention. Samantha and Bob's life changed.

Years later Sam looks at her life and wonders if this is it. She spends her time car pooling, at soccer games, and taking care of the home. Cammy is now seventeen, and their twin sons are eight years old. Raising Cammy has been difficult at the best of times and it has taken a toll on their marriage. Born a crack baby, Cammy suffered rages and tantrums, and now that she is in her teens she is withdrawing from the family. She dresses in Goth clothes and makeup, and Sam has just discovered she is using drugs and involved in sex. Sam realizes that sex is nonexistent in her own marriage and Bob seems blind to the fact their daughter has changed. Now Cammy is determined to find her birth mother and confront her about the adoption.

Feeling disconnected from Bob and her daughter Sam finds herself being attracted to a stranger on the commuter train. He is easy to talk to, and shares Sam's sense of humour. Soon they are meeting for long talks over coffee and e-mailing each other. As the months go by Sam discovers she no longer loves Bob, and sneaking around and lying is not the way to go. Both Sam and Cammy are filled with despair and hopelessness and never make a true connection with each other. A tragic accident leaves Sam despondent and again questioning her life. Sleepwalking In Daylight is the story of a dysfunctional family trying to navigate themselves back to happiness. It is a deep, heavy read but well worth it.

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