Getting to Happy
Published by Penguin Random House Audio
Narrated by S. Epatha Merkerson, Gloria Reuben and LaChanze
4/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this audiobook
An exuberant return to the four unforgettable heroines of Waiting to Exhale -- the novel that changed African American fiction forever.
Terry McMillan's Waiting to Exhale was more than just a bestselling novel -- its publication was a watershed moment in literary history. McMillan's sassy and vibrant story about four African American women struggling to find love and their place in the world touched a cultural nerve, inspired a blockbuster film, and generated a devoted audience.
Now, McMillan revisits Savannah, Gloria, Bernadine, and Robin fifteen years later. Each is at her own midlife crossroads: Savannah has awakened to the fact that she's made too many concessions in her marriage, and decides to face life single again-at fifty-one. Bernadine has watched her megadivorce settlement dwindle, been swindled by her husband number two, and conned herself into thinking that a few pills will help distract her from her pain. Robin has an all-American case of shopaholism, while the big dream of her life -- to wear a wedding dress -- has gone unrealized. And for years, Gloria has taken happiness and security for granted. But being at the wrong place at the wrong time can change everything. All four are learning to heal past hurts and to reclaim their joy and their dreams; but they return to us full of spirit, sass, and faith in one another. They've exhaled: now they are learning to breathe.
Related to Getting to Happy
Related audiobooks
Sinatra: The Chairman Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Voices of the Ghost II: Mysterious Meetings Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDeadly Obsession: A sexy, gripping suspense novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSummary of Hamilton: The Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSearch for a Wife (Barbara Cartland's Pink Collection 86) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Season Beyond a Kiss Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jeepers Creepers: Through the Eyes of Marty Feldman Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFibber McGee & Molly - Volume 10: Bowling Finals & New Fish Store Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFibber McGee & Molly - Volume 2: Women’s Bazaar & Missing Laundry Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFibber McGee & Molly - Volume 9: Baseball Cologne & Fibber’s Tune Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFibber McGee & Molly - Volume 1: Magic Act & Cartable Radio Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFibber McGee & Molly - Volume 7: Fire Alarm Box & Making a Vase Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFibber McGee & Molly - Volume 3: New Table Lamp & Childhood Sled Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFibber McGee & Molly - Volume 6: There's a Small Hotel & Fixing Doc’s Car Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFibber McGee & Molly - Volume 5: Spearhead Commission & Molly’s Easter Creation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFibber McGee & Molly - Volume 8: Passenger Pigeon & Going Fishing Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFibber McGee & Molly - Volume 4: Getting $7 Back & Volunteering for Jury Duty Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRomance in Marseille Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Come Love a Stranger Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Thieves Like Us Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Love and the Clans (Barbara Cartland's Pink Collection 89) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Shanna Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5American Pop: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Elusive Flame Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSo Worthy My Love Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Wolf and the Dove Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Petals on the River Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
African American Fiction For You
Orgy: A Short Story About Desire Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5On Rotation: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Maame: A Today Show Read With Jenna Book Club Pick Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Razorblade Tears: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5House of Cotton: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Erasure: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5One Summer in Savannah: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Honey and Spice: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Did You Hear About Kitty Karr?: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Darkest Child Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Blacktop Wasteland: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5All the Sinners Bleed: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Black Girls Must Die Exhausted: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Black Candle Women: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The List: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When No One Is Watching: A Thriller Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Must Love Books Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Flipping Boxcars: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Honey Girl: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Secret Lives of Church Ladies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kindred Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Passing Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Luster: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An American Marriage: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick: Stories from the Harlem Renaissance Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Native Son Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sing, Unburied, Sing: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Nigerwife: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Someday, Maybe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5You Were Always Mine: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for Getting to Happy
82 ratings13 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It was great catching up with Bernadine, Savannah, Robin, and Gloria again. this book had me pulled in and trapped from the first page. The various issues, drama, sadness, and motivators are all things we, as women, face each and every day. There was enough heartache to go around but there was also beauty and love and undying loyalty and happiness. In the end, there was happiness. I finished knowing that no matter what happens in life, getting to happy us all in what you do with the life that is given to you.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I love Terry McMillan books she has an awesome way to convey the black experience of love, loss and loving again ... Love it!!!!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I enjoyed this book but it still wasn’t better than “Waiting to Exhale “
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Reading the book myself would be better because the voice of this person is unbearable. The deameaor is like she upset and wanting to sound pleasant,also it's like she's telling the story of her life in a not so funny way. This could possibly be a great read tho
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Just like all her other books I like this one too!
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Too many LGBT topics for my liking. I've recently got back into reading and audiobooks because of the constant LGBT topics in Black television programs. Nothing against gays, but I'm only into reading books focused on straight Black love. The LGBT topics in the book didn't fit and felt like they were added in there as a way to spice up the book instead of adding more depth into the story itself.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It was good to find out what happened to the ladies of Waiting to Exhale
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5great book, enjoyed the narrative.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5-THANK YOU SO MUCH I REALLY ENJOYED THIS BOOK HAD ME THINKING ABOUT MY OWN LIFE JUST TURNED 56 LOL
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The same women from Waiting to Exhale and the challenges that they have with marriage and family issues. Not as good as "Waiting" but it is worth reading.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5While McMillan is one of my favorite authors, I have to say I was disappointed at this sequel of Waiting to Exhale. While it was interesting to see what happened to each of the main characters I though the author was too heavy-handed. Lacking any subtlety the reader is told what authors and poets to read, as well as who to listen to musically. It was as if she were challenging Oprah to influence our reading. And don't get me started on politics, there should be no black Republicans, since "Democrats = Good." I just wanted to read a book, not be preached to. My estimation of Ms. McMillan has come down a notch with this title.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I must admit I was somewhat apprehensive about reading Terry Mcmillan’s sequel to her bestseller, Waiting to Exhale. This book picks up the lives of girlfriends Bernadine, Robin, Savannah, and Gloria fifteen years later. Let me say this, a lot has changed!We start out with Savannah who has a fulfilling job but a boring marriage. Robin we find to be as self consumed and man crazy as we left her in Waiting to Exhale. Robin’s now fifteen year old daughter, Sparrow, is her voice of reason. Sparrow is a quirky teenager with an old soul and despite their monumental differences her and Robin have a great mother daughter relationship. It was good to find Gloria basking in happiness with her husband Marvin and son Tarek. Later both their lives take a turn for the worse. We discover our beloved Bernadine in a broken state and the pieces of her life are shattered and scattered everywhere. Among the online dating adventures, discovery of a porn watching cheating husband, addiction, death, and children that are growing into their own lives these ladies do discover some, Happy. It was so exciting to get into this story and just revisit the lives of these ladies again. Reading this novel was like catching up and reuniting with some old girlfriends. Even though we don’t find them as resilient as we did in Waiting to Exhale, we do see the ladies will to persevere. Terry really tapped into real life with this one she did not try and make it sugary sweet. When the ladies laughed I found myself laughing and when tragedy struck my heart sank with theirs. This novel was simply “real” to me. *I listened to the audiobook version of this novel.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is the sequel to Waiting to Exhale, but you don't necessarily need to have read that to follow this. I did, but I think I read it right around the time I read When Stella Got Her Groove Back, so I don't remember it. Still, I followed Getting to Happy easily.This picks up 15 years after Waiting to Exhale and is set in 2005. It's about what happens after the happy ending that Gloria, Savannah, Robin and Bernadine found in the first book.There are divorces and death, new loves, old loves and, of course, friendship. I don't want to say too much about what happens--and to which woman--because experiencing each surprise is the best part. But suffice it to say that these women all have indomitable spirits and can overcome everything.I loved the four women in this book (Gloria probably most of all, but they're all amazing) and I hope they come back in more books.