Over the last few years, I have discovered many new authors on Twitter. Jennifer Weiner is one of those authors whose tweets inspired me to try out her writing that is longer than 140 characters at a time. The Half Life, however, isn’t much longer than the amount of writing she does during the average Bachelor/Bachelorette episode. This short story about a woman on the brink of divorce gave me a taste of Weiner’s fiction writing and inspired me to add her longer works to my list of books to investigate. The main character, Piper DeWitt, realizes that her husband is indeed serious about ending their marriage just as she leaves home for a business trip to Paris. When her flight gets postponed due to volcano ash, she takes advantage of the time in limbo to explore what her new life may hold. A intense romantic interlude with a stranger empowers her to forge ahead with the new adventure. Weiner leaves the reader wondering just what will happen with DeWitt and her husband Tosh.

After reading this novelette, I discovered that it was a part of Redbook’s Red-Hot Read series. I do believe that I will try a longer read of Weiner’s in the future. This was such an easy read and engaged me immediately. I continue to enjoy Weiner’s tweets and her wit.