Widow, Virgin, Whore by Deanna Lynn Sletten

Widow, Virgin, Whore

Widow, Virgin, Whore by Deanna Lynn Sletten

Kindle Edition, 318 pages
Published December 10th 2011 by Amazon

Three very different women − one house − one devastating diagnosis.

When recently widowed Katherine Samuals purchases a home to share with her son, Christopher, and best friend, Denise Richards, the last thing she expects is to include Denise's outrageous sister, Darla Richards, into the household. But Katherine agrees because she adores Darla's daughter, Chelsea, and feels this is a good opportunity to give the young teen a real home.

Living with Darla is not easy. She parties too much, sleeps around, and speaks her mind without apology. To conservative Katherine and shy Denise, Darla’s behavior is intolerable. Then, Darla is diagnosed with AIDS, and the household is turned upside-down. Katherine finds herself thrown into Darla's life, first as her caregiver, then as her companion as she explores the devastating lives of AIDS sufferers.

Katherine's fledgling writing career flourishes as she shares the experiences of Darla's AIDS group in newspaper articles across the country. And Denise finds true love for the first time, but struggles with the inappropriate timing of her personal happiness. Surprisingly, Darla also finds love − real love − in a time when she needs it the most.

As the household struggles with the stress of living with a terminal illness, Katherine, Denise, and Darla learn just how strong their bond of friendship, and sisterhood, is.

If you are a sister or best friend, you will love this story.

My thoughts about Widow, Virgin, Whore ~~

Wow! Just wow! This is a very heartfelt, beautiful story about a very serious illness that has affected so many people over the years. The emotions blew me away.

These three women, these three very different women, start sharing a house. Katherine and Denise have been best friends for years but neither one of them get along with Denise's sister, Darla very well. It's going to be a struggle living with her all the way around. And then Darla gets some devastating news, she has full blown AIDS and her time with her family and friends will be cut short.

I immediately loved all three women, even wild and crazy Darla. They are all beautiful, caring women in their own way. The way they all come to depend on each other makes this such a wonderful story. All three women have to step out of their comfort zones to make this all work.

The reader really gets an inside look at the world of AIDS, from a lot of points of view; as a patient, as a caregiver, as family and friends, as the community members, and the world at large. This is a stark portrayal of how those affected by AIDS have been treated and I hope that things have changed as people have learned about the disease.

'They weren't like the people she thought had been her friends, they actually cared and stuck by each other. Through them, she learned how to cope better herself.'

One of the greatest parts of the story was when the three women get arrested for standing up for what they believe. It makes me smile just thinking about it now. They all went above and beyond to support their friend. It was wonderful to see their support and to see them realize how strong they really were.

'And while the entire marketplace of people stared on in disbelief, the officers led the three women off to the patrol car.'

This is a story with so much emotion, and yes, I did find myself with tears in my eyes at certain points. That's how involved I got with this story. And this story will resonate with anyone who has lost or is losing a loved one to a dreaded disease. It did with me. /div>

'Damn you Darla. Damn you for making me care so much.'

About the author

Deanna Lynn Sletten grew up on the sunny coast of southern California before moving to northern Minnesota as a teenager. Her interest in writing novels was sparked in a college English class and she has been writing in some form or another ever since. In 2011, Deanna discovered the world of self-publishing and published three novels she'd written over the years. After that, she was hooked.

Deanna enjoys writing heartwarming women's fiction and romance novels with unforgettable characters. She has also written one middle-grade novel that takes you on the adventure of a lifetime. She believes in fate, destiny, love at first sight, soulmates, second chances, and happily ever after, and her novels reflect that.

Deanna is married and has two grown children. When not writing, she enjoys walking the wooded trails around her home with her beautiful Australian Shepherd or relaxing in the boat on the lake in the summer.

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