The View from the Bridge: Why I Wrote Making It Over The Tobin Bridge

I still don’t seem to believe that I wrote a book, and that it has been published. I started writing Making It Over The Tobin Bridge from a forgotten memory that came back to me. It was one of those "sliding doors" moments where I realized that if I hadn’t fallen asleep, my whole life might look different today.

As I wrote, I reflected on my life's journey and on my friends' lives. We are now in our early fifties, looking from a vantage point that only time can give us. When we were young, we were given a very specific formula for "happily ever after." The formula: go to college, find a man who chooses you, have a few children, and perhaps maintain a career. We were told that if we completed this formula, life would be complete. But as we moved through the decades, many of us realized that the formula was a fairy tale that didn’t account for life's complexity. Our lives didn’t always follow societal norms, and that was okay.

I have always been an avid reader. For years, I enjoyed contemporary romance, but recently I've grown tired of it. I no longer connected with the usual tropes: situationships that turn into love, "aloof" love interests, or enemy-to-lovers. I wanted to write something that touched women my age—stories of women who have lived through the "ups and downs" and have a different outlook and wisdom on life's realities.  

In Making It Over The Tobin Bridge, the story is deeply connected to my personal experiences. It explores the idea that our "happily ever after" doesn't rely on being chosen by someone else; it depends on our own sense of self-worth. It shares the internal fire that pushes us to pursue what we want, regardless of whether it matches the mold we were given at a young age. 

My book honors the wonderful lives my friends and I have crafted on our own terms. It’s for the woman who understands that the most vital relationship she will ever nurture is with herself. Whether we choose the traditional route or not, we are the creators of our happiness.

Making It Over The Tobin Bridge is my way of saying that life might not go as planned. But it can still turn out fabulous.  

Link to buy the book: Making It Over The Tobin Bridge