I Almost Forgot About Terry McMillan. A Book Review

By: Elizabeth Redhead Kriston

It’s been a long time since I read Terry McMillan. For the life of me, I don’t know what has taken me so long to dive into one of her wonderful books. I had forgotten about her strong female characters. I had forgotten about her complex, but relatable human stories. I had forgotten about her expert use of detail to immerse the reader into a story without burying the message in extraneous descriptors.

I just finished the audiobook version of Terry McMillan’s 2016 New York Times bestselling novel I Almost Forgot About You. What a fantastic read. McMillan’s main character, Georgia, and I have very little in common. Yet, I felt like I could relate to her. Though she was grappling with a bit of a midlife crisis, I envied her journey.

Georgia, an ophthalmologist who lives in the San Francisco Bay area, has a great home, a good job, a loving family, and amazing friends. She decides, at 55, that she wants to reinvent herself. McMillan takes the reader on a journey of self-exploration and discovery that is funny, heartwarming, and seemingly real.

We learn all about Georgia. Like Georgia does throughout the book, I will use a list to describe her: Georgia is strong, funny, loyal, loving. She is easy to talk to. She is crass and sarcastic. She is opinionated and does not hold back her thoughts. She is creative, insightful, and intelligent. She is liberal, open, giving, brave, tolerant, and generous. She wants to love, be loved, give love, deserve love. She is sexy and sexual. She is judgmental, but also accepting. She is well read, loves movies, and is a wonderful cook. She has money, but not too much. She is thick, but healthy. She enjoys a glass of good wine. She makes time for the people she loves. She is supportive even to strangers. She is kind.

McMillan surrounds Georgia with strong females. Her mother and daughters. Her BFF’s. Her coworkers. Her neighbors. All of the women have something to offer Georgia and are integral to her story. We get to know these women and care about their lives. We get to learn how to nurture female relationships through McMillan’s story telling.

Georgia encounters her past loves throughout the book. These men are intelligent, loving, and sexy. They are perfectly imperfect. Georgia has class and does not hold grudges, even when the men hurt her. She forgives, and that is the best thing she can do for herself and her family.

McMillan narrates her audiobook, which, if I am being honest, I was not thrilled with at first. She is a writer not an actress. While I appreciated hearing the story directly from the storyteller, her inability to change voice for the characters sometimes made it hard to know who was speaking. Once I was able to let go of my need for variations in voice, I was able appreciate that she was telling the story the way she intended. I felt as if I was hearing the story the way she heard it in her head when she wrote it. As a writer, I always hope the reader knows my tone and my intention for the words I wrote. By narrating her own book, she made that happen. That was perfect.

Terry McMillan has done it again.