Marilyn Grimes is a wife, mother, sister, and daughter. Today she's decided to be something different: herself. First, she has to find out who that is.

Terry McMillan's sixth novel, The Interruption of Everything, is every bit as enthralling and empowering as her earlier hits Waiting to Exhale and A Day Late and a Dollar Short. However, as McMillan matures as an author, her characters follow suit, which leads her to a wiser, more introspective lead character in the form of Marilyn Grimes. Our reward, as readers, is a tale of midlife crisis, mixed with family and personal drama, all told in the witty, honest, and inspiring style we've come to expect from this seasoned storyteller.

As Marilyn approaches middle-age, we follow her struggle to discover herself outside the constraints of a passionless marriage, a demanding family and an ever-growing list of dreams deferred. With three children in college, a husband who suffers from destructive professional and personal inertia, a demanding mother-in-law, a senile mother and a drug-addicted sister, Marilyn has more on her plate than she expected at this stage of the game. Torn between taking care of her friends and family and attending to her own needs, she's faced with choices, like deciding to finish her graduate degree, that never before seemed hers to make. Along the way, supporting characters like Marilyn's feisty little niece and supportive-yet-opinionated best friends Paulette and Bunny add humor and depth to our heroine's character. And as always, McMillan does a flawless job of incorporating humor into even the most traumatic situations, as evidenced by a scene in which Marilyn ends up babysitting her hairdresser's children while waiting twelve hours for new braids. ("At three, Blue has to make a run. Orange has to go to the bank to get a money order. I ask Lexus to find me a Pamper and I take the baby in the bathroom.")

Warm and witty, sincere and heartfelt, The Interruption of Everything is sure to delight McMillan devotees and attract a host of new fans. --Gisele Toueg

I really didn't know what to expect never have read a Terry McMillan novel before. Was I pleasantly surprised!!! I could relate to most everything she described in her book and found it very nice that I'm not the only one in the world that feels the same way her characters do and suffer the same issues.

I didn't want to put the book down and kept saying, "Just one more chapter, then I'll go to bed. Ok...one more chapter...then I'll go to bed". That went on for about 5-6 chapters before I finally went to bed. HA!! Then the minute I woke up I wanted to pick it up and read some more to find out what happens next!

Would recommend this to everyone as a great read and my compliments to Terry for some authentic and life writing!!!

Can't wait to read more of her writings.

I love to read and I've read ALL of Terry's books and LOVED them.Normally, I can finish a good book in a day. Sometimes two days. This book however, leaves much to be desired. I bought this book when it first came out and I still haven't finished it. If I can't get through the first 5 pages of a book then I usually don't buy it. Well, I bought the book anyway, because it's Terry McMillan and that was my little stamp of approval. Now I wish that I would have just gone with my gut and left that book at Books-A-Million where it belonged. Right now it's on of my radio, because every so often, I feel like I should give it a 5th chance, a 6th chance, a 7th chance....because it's Terry McMillan. I still have an itch to "Try" once in a while. Reality hasn't quite set in that I really Loathe this book. I've made it to page 108, but it did take me a few YEARS to do it AND it was truly torture. My goal is to finish this book no matter what, since I did pay for it. I guess I could keep it and read it when I retire in 20-30 years. I hope her next book is much better.

The thing I really liked about this book was the depiction of real-life events and scenarios. All of the plot twists in this book seemed just like REAL LIFE. Nothing fancy, nothing super-crazy - just the story of how one woman deals with the crap that life throws at her, in a very honest and everyday kind of way. The characters were a little 2-dimensional and sterotypical for my taste at times, but the story kept flowing and wrapped up neatly with a little happy bow at the end. Loved the dialogue, too. I feel like I really know these characters and have conversed with them myself. GREAT vacation book! (PS - I met her! That was a thrill. She even signed my book. Super-cool woman, that Terry is.)

This is only the 2nd book by Terry McMillan that I've read, and I loved it. Marilyn is a strong woman whose life is spiraling into a different direction than she'd planned. She is looking back on the years she gladly spent as a wife and mother and resenting that her life was put on hold for so long. Her children are grown and out of the house, but her mother-in-law has moved in. Her husband is going through a mid-life crisis simultaneously, which greatly complicates things. Her own mother is displaying alarming signs of Alzheimer's. Her only sister is struggling with drug problems and trying to raise two little children. Her first husband has moved into the neighborhood, and girls, he is looking good!

Through all of Marilyn's struggles, her loving character shines through. She is a nurturer and she nurtures everyone around her. Throughout the book, we are wondering if Marilyn can rise above these circumstances. Can she learn to nurture herself? When a tragedy in the family occurs, we see Marilyn's great strength and watch as her great capacity for love pulls her---and those around her---through.

An easy read with snappy dialogue, entertaining, and doesn't ask too much of the reader.It is for sure a chick book, whips up a lot of outrage towards men, as regards lack of appreciation for the things women (wives, Moms) do for them, and endure, for love.
However, it has a certain emptiness as to character development, the sister particularly, and the attitude towards her Mom, is puzzlingly casual.