An Amazon Charts and Washington Post bestseller.The worst of times calls for the best of friends in this sassy novel about starting over, from New York Times bestselling author Carolyn Brown.Dear friends and army wives Diana, Carmen, and Joanie have been through war, rumors of war, marital problems, motherhood, fears, joy, and heartache. But none of the women are prepared when their daughters … the women are prepared when their daughters decide to enlist in the army together. Facing an empty nest won’t be easy. Especially for Carmen. With emotions already high, she suffers an even greater blow: divorce papers. Diana understands the fury and tears. She’s been there.
With nothing to lose and no one at home, the girlfriends impulsively accept an unexpected offer from their elderly neighbor. The recently widowed Tootsie has an RV, a handsome nephew at the wheel, and an aim for tiny Scrap, Texas, to embrace memories of her late husband. Still grieving, she can use the company as a balm for her broken heart. So can the empty nesters.
Embarking on a journey of hope, romance, and healing, Diana, Carmen, and Joanie are at a turning point in their lives. And with the open road ahead of them, it’s just the beginning.
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Embarking on a journey of hope, romance, and healing, Diana, Carmen, and Joanie are at a turning point in their lives. And with the open road ahead of them, it’s just the beginning.
A loving story of loss, and the way these friends helping each other to deal, coup also bond a deeper friendship, during a traumatic time in each of there lives.
The Empty Nesters by Carolyn Brown
Think I have read other works by the author and treasured them as I did this one.
Starts out with Smokey and Tootsie living in TX and they have 3 new army families moving in next door.
It’s so special to them as they never had kids of their own. The husbands all leave for work overseas and the women and the 3 girls are left behind to keep them entertained over the years.
Love that there are so many sides to this story, not only of the older couple Smokey and Tootsie but each of the 3 women as they go through changes over the years.
And the girls are all grown up, graduating high school and enlisting themselves.
Love how the women all stick with one other through the good and bad times and I love what obstacles they are able to overcome with help from each other.
Can’t wait to read more of this author’s works. So many emotions while reading this book.
They are strong and brave through it all.
Author Carolyn Brown has written another page turner that will have you shedding tears from a little sadness and alot of happiness! Carmen, Diana, and Joanie are three military wives that have been best friends for years. Throw in Tootsie as the surrogate mother of these three and you will have a force to reckon with! Surviving her husband’s death, Tootsie decides to take the girls on a road trip to Scrap, Texas, to the vacation home that she and Smokey went to every year to celebrate their anniversary. Now that Carmen, Joanie, and Diana’s three girls have left for basic training, they have nothing to hold them back. After Carmen receives some shocking news, a road trip is exactly what they need. Tootsie has arranged for her handsome and wealthy nephew, Luke, to be the driver of their new motorhome but will he be able to resist the beautiful, divorced, Diana? Will this trip be able to heal hearts broken by death, divorce, and infidelity? Will miracles take place so that one ladies nest will no longer be empty? This was another five plus star read from the Amazing Author Carolyn Brown! I cannot get enough of the magnificent and emotionally charged novels that Brown writes!
A great read. Carolyn is always a must read.
Sometimes if you are lucky, you pick up a book at just the right time in your life that every emotion written by the author resonates and you cannot put it down. THE EMPTY NESTERS by Carolyn Brown is that book for me.
The story starts by introducing us to Tootsie and Smokey Colbert. Smokey is retired Army and Tootsie is his beloved wife of over 50 years. They never had children of their own, so they are very excited when three new military couples move into the neighboring homes each with their own young daughter. The men are in the same unit and the wives are close friends.
Jump ahead thirteen years. Diana, Carmen and Joanie are all still best friends and about to face an empty nest at home as all three of their daughters leave for bootcamp after having enlisted in the Army together. Diana has been divorced and moved on, working and focusing on her daughter Rebecca. Joanie is still an army wife, waiting for her husband to come home as her daughter Zoe leaves also. Carmen just said goodbye to her daughter, Natalie and she receives the emotional punch of receiving unexpected divorce papers in the mail after 20 years of marriage.
After losing the love of her life, Smokey, one month ago, Tootsie decides to go on their planned trip to his family’s reunion and take the girls with her. They have nothing to lose and no one at home, so they begin their two month long life changing journey as “The Empty Nesters” in a large RV driven by Smokey’s nephew, Luke. Tootsie faces the memories of her late husband and hopes to ease her loneliness and broken heart, Joanie receives life changing news from her husband which will alter the group, Carmen must deal with the hurt, betrayal and end of her marriage and Diana just may learn to open her heart to a new relationship and love.
This is my favorite Carolyn Brown book to date. Keep the tissues handy for not only sad, but happy tears. I read this in one sitting because I just had to know the resolution of all of “The Empty Nesters”. This book deals with so many stages of life and love. It also shows each character dealing with what life dishes out to them and how they cope with the help of their friendship. I felt the dialogue, the emotions and the trials and triumphs were realistically written and handled by Ms. Brown. Each of the women as a character is unique and yet they mesh so well together.
I highly recommend The Empty Nesters!
Carolyn Brown’s The Empty Nesters had a good plot and was fun to read. Four military wives come together to support each other as they begin to deal with an empty nest. Three daughters have left to go to basic training.
One of the women is recently widowed, one of the women has been divorced for years, and one has just received divorce papers. The four women embark on a multi-week trip in an RV that winds through Texas but also has one important stop in Oklahoma. This book was easy to read and I finished it in a day. I would definitely recommend to those that like contemporary fiction and women’s literature
Carolyn brown is on my favorite authors list. I love her down south ladies and how she writes strong women, even when they are going through something big. There are certain commonalities to her stories that I’ve just fallen for and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every book of hers I read. Especially this one that was so different and had a fabulous storyline!
Most of us think of empty nesters as parents of kids who have left for college. In this novel three military wives are left as empty nesters when their daughters all enlist in the Army at the same time. Diana is divorced, Carmen has just received divorce papers, and Joanie’s husband has left for another secret military mission. When their recently widowed neighbor Tootsie invites them to go with her on her annual trip to Scrap, Texas, they accept eagerly and pack into her RV with her nephew Luke as their driver. Over the weeks of their stay in Scrap, they come to terms with the changes in their lives. This is a wonderful look at how friendships are sometimes the closest thing to family we have – definitely a 5 star read.
Tootsie decided that she would go on the trip that she and Smokey always went on each fall. The husbands were deployed and when one gets really bad news, she decided that the moms can go on the trip with her. She and Smokey had bought an RV for the trip and his nephew was going to drive the RV.
For me, the book is about where they all go from here. When you have been who you are for so long, what do you do when you are no longer that person. Carolyn Brown takes on the journey of what 4 very close friends did. Through anger, tears smiles, and hope we go through the journey with them.
I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this book based on the description. Carolyn Brown did a fantastic job creating relatable characters from different generations and different walks of life with the common thread of being empty nesters. The story centers on 3 Army wives whose daughters have all enlisted in the Army just like their fathers. Diana, Joannie, and Carmen have been friends since their now 18 year old daughters were little and they all moved to the same block. They supported each other through their husbands being deployed, their children growing up, and Diana’s divorce. Now they are going to support each other thru their empty nest syndrome with some help from their neighborhood mom, Tootsie and her nephew, Luke. All 5 of them embark on an RV adventure which turns into a journey of self discovery. I really enjoyed this book. The POV changes from one character to the next throughout the book, which I appreciated given the number of main characters. My emotions ran the gamut from laughing hysterically to being angry and to crying my eyes out. I’m about 5 years older than the ladies in the book and I could really identify with them. It was nice to read a book that had characters my own age in it and not as the mother of the main characters. I enjoyed the story and the characters so I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a book that has depth to it.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher on netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Loved it and it’s keeper!
It was a nice read after a life altering event.
Sweet, brutal messes.
True to life characters as we expect, living through life’s various ways of emptying nests. Some good, some bad, and the consequences of them all. Tearful, excellent read!
Original story and great happy ending.
This book was just ok.
No earth shattering moments. Predictable.
The use of terms like “All ya’all” used repeatedly became tiresome. In my opinion, not one of Carolyn Brown’s best.
These are people that you would like to know. Pour yourself a cup of tea and find a comfortable place to sit because you’ll want to know how it ends.
A DIFFERENT BOOK – ENJOYABLE
Having lived the life of an Army Brat and a Federal Officer’s spouse, I could relate somewhat to this book, although neither my father’s 36 year career nor my husband’s 46 year career ever allowed us to stay twenty years in the same location.
So, with that in mind, the premiss of the story is a little fantastical, but that’s okay in a book of fiction.
And I loved the characters! OK, unlike real life, the money behind the major character, allowing her stupendous generosity, is incredibly convenient, as is the millionaire status of another major character, and shifts a women’s novel into fantasy, but the characters are complex enough that The Empty Nesters reads as very engaging.
Although not compelling enough for late in the night/early morning reading, I found it captivating enough that I picked it up each late evening to read for an hour or two before bed.
The concept of starting over and beginning again really appealed to me.