Goodbye Without Leaving    by Laurie Colwin Order:  USA  Can Harper, 2021 (1990) Hardcover, Softcover      Reviewed by Rheta Van Winkle Geraldine went to college because it was expected of her by her overbearing mother. Her mother Gertrude was an artist, locally famous in the town where they lived for painting children's portraits, and she impressed on Geraldine the importance of finding a career. Geraldine didn't have any particular skills, but she loved reading, so she majored in English and unable to decide on what to do with herself after college, she began graduate studies, spending long hours in the library struggling with boredom. She met her roommate on her first day in college and Mary became her best friend. They shared a love for music and both of them rebelled at wearing the clothes purchased by their mothers. Mary had a closet full of dresses with price tags still attached, which she tucked inside when she wore them to church. Mary's graduate work was serious, though, and she thought that Geraldine's studies were simply 'staving off real life,' which was true. Then Geraldine got a chance to become the only white Shakette touring with Ruby Shakely and her band. She 'had one week to sublet her apartment, tell her department chairman and fly east to break the news to her parents. No one took it very well.' Still she mused that 'During my career as a backup singer with Vernon and Ruby Shakely and the Shakettes, it often occurred to me that this was not a lifetime occupation and that someday I would have to figure out my rightful place in society.' Geraldine was a talented Shakette with a beautiful singing voice. She loved the costumes and flawlessly performed the dance routines with the other two girls. The tour bus was uncomfortable with long boring stretches and the food and hotels weren't great, but she loved to wear Day-Glow dresses with fringe and sing and dance on stage. She even had solo lines in some of the songs. 'Being on stage made up for everything: the exhaustion, the greasy food, the boredom. It was an addiction. She loved it. She loved their dance dresses and their luminescent shoes. She loved to shake and sweat in front of those gigantic speakers.' She noticed her future husband Johnny because he came to so many of their shows, always sitting in the second row wearing a jacket and tie. After they became a couple, he followed the band to the cities where she was singing, and when Ruby and Vernon Shakely finally let her go because they were moving up in the world, she found the next chapter of her life with Johnny. Geraldine felt that her true calling in life was being a Shakette. She struggled to accommodate herself to her life as a wife and mother. Johnny, sharing her love for music, supported her on her journey to self-discovery. Her story is wonderful, funny, and sad at times, but never too sad, and brimming with enthusiasm for life. She grows, she changes, never quite resigning herself to the loss of her career as a back-up singer, but in the end she triumphs. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Contemporary books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews