Thursdays at Eight

by Debbie Macomber

Book Overview

A time to think about lives lived, choices made. A time for friends... Every week, four women have an unmissable appointment in their calendars: they meet for breakfast. Clare has just been through a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1551668114
• ISBN13: 9781551668116
• Release Date: June 2001
• Publisher: Mira Books
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.4" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

I'd Love to Join this Group!

In recent years a new genre has emerged which I refer to as friendship or bonding books.  These are those books which chronicle the lives of four or five characters who may meet through various venues.  They may meet as college roommates or in book groups or cooking classes, writing classes, or even as tourists on a holiday or the newest place, Internet discussion groups.  Titles like Talk Before Sleep by Elizabeth Berg, Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik, Outer Banks by Anne Rivers Siddons and Evening Class by Maeve Binchy are fine examples of these kinds of books.  And to this list I now add what I think is one of the best among them, Thursdays at Eight by Debbie Macomber. Four different women at four different points in their lives and four different ages meet during a journal writing class. While the class proves to be less than worthwhile, these four women bond together and decide to meet weekly. Thus begins these weekly meetings Thursday mornings at 8 am at Mocha Moment a popular coffee shop to continue their friendships. And it is through these weekly meetings the four women learn more about each other, support each other through good times and bad times and ultimately learn more about themselves as well. Karen is a 28 year old women struggling with her desire to become an actresses and a disapproving mother. Working as a substitute teacher seems to suit her for now as she continues to audition, but is this going to be the sum of her future? Julia at 39 has just opened a knitting shop and with two teenagers in the house can look forward to spending more time with her husband and on herself. But then a big surpass may change all of these plans. Clare is in her 40's and has just been divorced from her husband who fell in love with a 20 year old. Clare is angry and filled with hate for her former husband and can't wait till she can get some revenge. But then she learns that life can turn on a dime and feelings can and do change. And finally there is Liz, both the voice of reason and maturity among the four. At 57 and a widow for 6 years, Liz wonders if time is rushing by her and if she can ever find more meaning to her life now that her husband is gone. Through the year this book takes place, these four women lean on one another as they experience joy, pain, grief and profound changes in their lives. The book is told from each woman's point of view at the beginning of each chapter as each character write their journal entry. And then the focus shifts to the group at large as they connect with the event in each other's lives. And perhaps one of my favorite parts of this book is the way the author chose significant quotes as chapter headings. Some of these quotes were funny, some were poignant but all reflected events that were going to happen in this chapter. Thursdays at 8 is a well written book from the heart that one hates to see end. Now, I would love to know how these four women, I think of as friends, ar

The Breakfast Club

This is a wonderful book about four women who attended a journal writing class and decide to continue meeting.They call their group the "Mocha Moments Cafe' Breakfast Club"and meet each Thursday at eight. The four women are Claire,recently divorced,who bears much anger toward her ex-husband;Liz,a professional woman in her late fifties,who is a widow;Julia,turning forty,with teen-agers,has just started her own business,and,finally ,Karen,in her twenties,whose dreams conflict with the role her family thinks she should follow.In spite of their age differences,these women compliment each other and each plays a major role in the others' lives.Every chapter focuses on one woman,with a page from her journal telling her thoughts,continuing on to her story.They all experience great changes in their lives and look to the others for advice and support, loyally standing by each other thru it all.Debbie Macomber makes these women so real you want to meet them and be a part of their group.You feel certain that there really is a Mocha Moments Cafe' and that Julie,Karen,Liz and Claire are sitting there talking every Thursday morning. This is definitely a womans' book, but I am sure that a certain segment of men will find it appealing - the characters surely are.

Wonderful story of the meaning of friendship!

I picked this book up on a whim, and I gobbled it. Finishing this book left me disappointed - I wanted more!! The way the book ends, however, leaves room for a sequel and I hope Ms. Macomber considers it. I liked the style this book was written in. The story is about the lives of four friends and each chapter is dedicated to one of the four friends. Most chapters open with entries in their journals and then continues with their story. By about 3/4 of the way through the book, each friend's story is intertwined with that of at least one of the other three friends. I understand Ms. Macomber has been writing Romance Novels for some time (this was the first of her books I've read), but this book is so much more than a Romance. I really liked this book and hope there are more like it to come.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!!!! WOMEN'S FICTION AT ITS BEST

It has long been my belief that when an author moves from mass market paperback originals to hardcover, the book needs to be something special - partly to justify the increased price and partly to attract a larger audience. THURSDAYS AT EIGHT is Debbie Macomber's hardcover release and there's no doubt about it being justified.The very method she uses to tell the story is unique. Each chapter begins with a journal entry by each of the four main characters who have met in a journal-writing class but after the class is completed, they find they wish to continue meeting and their breakfast club, Thursday morning at 8 AM at Mocha Moments Café is born. In the first four chapters we meet each of the women: Clare Craig, Liz Kenyon, Karen Curtis, and Julia Murchison as they chose their word for the year and write it into their journals on January first.Claire, who has just been through a devastating divorce after 23 years of marriage, choses the word "faithful." She wants the year to be one of new beginnings. She never expects how her faithfulness will be truly tested.Liz, a 57-year-old widow and hospital administrator has begun the year alone for the first time in her life, both her adult children having moved out of towtn in the last three months. She choses the word "time" - accepting being alone and believing she should take time to learn how to live contentedly by herself. But can she achieve that contentment alone??Karen Curtis is 28 years old and single. She has long dreamed of becoming an actress despite her parents' disapproval. Her word is "acceptance" that her mother will accept her for who she is and quit comparing her to her sister Victoria who is married to a successful attorney and has a young son. The word takes on a new meaning when Karen learns she needs to accept herself.Julia is totally content. She has a happy marriage, two well-adjusted teenagers, and has recently opened her own business, a yarn shop which is doing well. She's chosen the word "gratitude" being happy with what she has. Will she be so grateful when, at age 40, she's faced with an unexpected pregnancy?During the next year each of these four women face truths about themselves but with the love and support of the others, survive. Heartwarming and emotional are words often used to describe the stories told by the talented Ms. Macomber and THURSDAYS AT EIGHT is no exception. Her stories are always enjoyable but this one is even more than that, it enables readers to take stock of their own lives and the people around them. What word would you chose?Maudeen Wachsmith Charter Member, Reviewers International Organization (RIO)

An Insightful relationship drama

The four women met at a university class. Each one needs something different because undesirable change has come into their respective lives. Though on the surface they share little in common, the female quartet meet every Thursday at 8:00 AM at the Mocha Moments Cafe and experience the camaraderie that helps them adapt to unwanted change.Over thirteen months divorced with two teenage sons, Clare Craig seeks new beginnings, but still feels haunted by her spouse's desertion for a younger woman. Though her husband died six years ago, fifty-seven-year-old Liz Kenyon still grieves him as memories of his last moments when the semi hit his vehicle haunts her though she was not there to see him die. Still in her twenties, Karen Curtis still believes in her high school drama class dream though no one else, including her parents and Jeff, does. This forces her to grow up and think of abandoning her deepest desires. Julia Murcheson turns forty this year and begins to feel the empty nest syndrome as her teens get nearer to college, that is until she learns she is pregnant.Debbie Macomber shows why she is one of the most powerful, highly regarded authors on the stage today. THURSDAYS AT EIGHT is a brilliant, insightful look at relationships through the interaction of four women, who depend on one another and their weekly breakfast to survive radical change. Each of the main protagonists seem real and their problems genuine, as many reader will testify. The four subplots cleverly blend into a great contemporary tale that demonstrate why Ms. Macomber consistently provides some of the best literature in new and used bookstores.Harriet Klausner