Forever Different

About the Book

Extraordinary things can happen to ordinary people. This is the true story of Meredith, a vibrant, successful women who inexplicably chooses to pursue a secret and torrid affair with her husband's friend, a well known and influential businessman.

In a timeless account of love, romance, and deception, Meredith lives in the shadowy world of extramarital affairs. For over two years, she chronicles every twist-and-turn of her roller coaster relationship.

Forever Different: The Ultimate Deception breathlessly carries you into Meredith's deepest thoughts. Experience first hand how it feels to be swept away in seductive emotions so powerful that she is willing to risk — and very nearly lose everything.

Little Beauty is what Michael called her for two years. It is the name that continues to haunt her long after their first, fateful meeting: an innocent encounter at a high school basketball game. Stage One of their affair begins that day: Temptation. Transformed by that one unexpected moment, a magnetic sense of closeness quickly develops between the two would-be lovers. Flirtation, friendship, and an undeniable growing attraction! When Michael confesses his feelings for Meredith, she responds.

Euphoria, Stage Two, chronicles weeks and months of growing exhilaration. Friends become lovers. They consummate their relationship in an elegant hotel room on Meredith's birthday, another haunting reminder. Meredith's journal tells of the unprecedented renewal of her mind and spirit. She is reborn sexually. The guilt is just beginning, but any thoughts of breaking off the relationship are cast aside by the sheer joy of being in Michael's arms. Gradually, her emotions become the guiding light of the relationship. When love takes over, Meredith is thrown irrevocably into Stage Three of her affair: Obsession. The connection she once saw as revitalizing is now a growing bond with Michael. She begins a tormented battle with the values that have long ruled her life. It is no longer the casual relationship she had earlier agreed upon. Her emotions, like most women, are joined with the physical side of the affair, and there is nothing she can do about it. Michael is a constant presence; he touches her heart, body, and soul. Problems at home are amplified, and guilt is an ever-present force inside her. Her health suffers. Her relationship with her children suffers. The roller coaster melding excitement and pleasure with sorrow and pain controls Meredith even in sleep.

Anguish, confusion, and emotion beyond Meredith's control lead to Stage Four of her affair: Making Peace. How often does she try to break it off? How often does she relent? Longing for Michael's commitment, she knows it will never happen. His own world controls him. He will never leave his wife. He will never put Meredith above his career. The affair is like a cage. Try as she might, Meredith cannot stretch its boundaries or make it fit the perfect picture she has painted in her mind.

The entanglement of her bond with Michael has captured her in ways Meredith could never have imagined, and Endings, Stage Five, only truly begins when Meredith's husband confronts her. The end is near. Hope for the success of the relationship is so fleeting that Meredith is left with only remorse and anger. Yet the merest flicker of hope is always a lasting monument to the affair, and even Meredith's most steadfast resolve can't stamp it our completely. Only time can do that.

About the Author

• Graduated number one in class at beauty school. Owner-operator of a salon for 18 years. Loves working with people, making people feel their best, and finding the true core of their souls. Has a knack for allowing people to open up, and loves listening to them.
  
• "Everyone has a story to tell and I'm always listening!" Writing career sparked by many years spent gaining insight into the human experience via listening to people from all walks of life as they sit in the salon chair.
  
• Second-generation Italian-American who grew up in the small, close knit community.
  
• Wife, mother, and business owner who is active in many church, community and school/sports functions.
  
• Previous occupations include receptionist and dental assistant.
  
• Future writing plans include a "Chicken Soup For the Soul" type book based on experience of hearing many people confess their hopes, dreams and life stories while at the hair salon. A Steel Magnolias tale for the Northeast!
  
• Red Hat Society member.
  
• World traveler. Visited many European and Caribbean countries.