"At the Water's Edge" by Sara Gruen

As often happens, I had no plans to read this book, but it was available on audio from my library and I downloaded it to listen to during my daily commute. I ended up really enjoying it. The book is set during World War II. The main character Maddie Hyde is a young Philadelphia socialite who is busy floating from party to party in the company of her husband Ellis and his friend Hank. Unfortunately, their carefree lifestyle is about to come to an end because Ellis' parents threaten to cut off their financial support. Ellis and Hank decide to embark on a fool's errand and travel to Scotland looking for the Loch Ness monster, a venture Ellis' father had attempted in his youth just to spectacularly embarrass himself in front of the entire world.

Maddie was a surprisingly likable and relatable character. Having found herself in Scotland, she begins to re-evaluate her life, marriage and choices. At the heart of it, she is just a lost young woman who desperately wants to be loved and respected. She is also tired of her idleness. When she meets Meg and Anne, the two women who work at the Inn where she is staying, she is humbled by how much they've suffered and how hard they have to work, and yearns to help. The horrors of war and lack of simple necessities wake her up to finally face the horrors of her own life: from childhood abuse and neglect to loveless marriage and more abuse and neglect, but this time from her husband. This book is a story of one woman trying to survive and be happy. It kept me interested and engaged and I could not keep but root for Maddie. 5 out of 5 stars. I will definitely be reading more books by Sara Gruen.