We live in hard times. That's one reason why a feel-good book like Mary E. Mitchell's delightful STARTING OUT SIDEWAYS is so valuable. But there are many more reasons to love this book: the characters, who, utterly endearing or deliciously fun to hate, are so fully fleshed out you'll feel you ought to offer them a chair. The full-of surprises story that keeps you rapidly turning pages. The humor that makes you laugh out loud--literally--balanced by a well-earned poignancy. The writing is fluid and natural and smart. The ideas explored here, about what's most important in people and in relationships, make you think in new ways about your own life. Most importantly, there is a humanity exhumed in this book that makes you feel proud and hopeful about being a human on planet Earth. These days, that's a rare and wonderful thing.
--Elizabeth Berg, New York Times bestselling author