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    The Wednesday Group: A Novel
    The Wednesday Group: A Novel
    The Wednesday Group: A Novel
    Audiobook8 hours

    The Wednesday Group: A Novel

    Written by Sylvia True

    Narrated by Susan Bennett

    5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Gail. Hannah. Bridget. Lizzy. Flavia. Each of them has a shameful secret, and each is about to find out that she is not alone... Gail, a prominent Boston judge, keeps receiving letters from her husband's latest girlfriend, while her husband, a theology professor, claims he's nine-months sober from sex with grad students. Hannah, a homemaker, catches her husband having sex with a male prostitute in a public restroom. Bridget, a psychiatric nurse at a state hospital, is sure she has a loving, doting spouse, until she learns that he is addicted to chat rooms and match-making websites. Lizzy, a high school teacher, is married to a porn addict, who is withdrawn and uninterested in sex with her. Flavia was working at the Boston Public library when someone brought her an article that stated her husband had been arrested for groping a teenage girl on the subway. He must face court, and Flavia must decide if she wants to stay with him. Finally, Kathryn, the young psychologist running the group, has as much at stake as all of the others.

    As the women share never-before-uttered secrets and bond over painful truths, they work on coming to terms with their husbands' addictions and developing healthy boundaries for themselves. Meanwhile, their outside lives become more and more intertwined, until, finally, a series of events forces each woman to face her own denial, betrayal and uncertain future head-on.

    From author Sylvia True comes The Wednesday Group, a captivating, moving novel about friendship, marriage, and the bonds that connect us all.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Audio
    Release dateMar 24, 2015
    ISBN9781427239518
    The Wednesday Group: A Novel
    Author

    Sylvia True

    SYLVIA TRUE was born in Manchester, England, and now lives in Massachusetts with her husband and dogs. She teaches high school. The Wednesday Group is her first novel.

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    Reviews for The Wednesday Group

    5/5

    12 ratings10 reviews

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    • 5/5
      When I received this book I was unsure if I would actually enjoy it but I loved reading it. I picked this book up, started reading it and was quite happy with the story. I enjoyed hearing about all the characters history and what was going on at all times. I am hoping that Sylvia True may write another one giving an update about all the characters because I want to know what happens to all of them.
    • 4/5
      Oh, my poor broken heart. The Wednesday Group is Sylvia True's debut novel, but I can promise you right now that it doesn't read like one. It's stunning, and heartbreaking. I came into a story about women whose problems were far removed from my own life. My biggest worry was that I wouldn't be able to connect enough to really enjoy this story. Trust me, I shouldn't have had any doubts. True's characters came to life. They embraced me as part of their group, and I watched as they laid their hearts and their souls on the table for me to pick apart. Be warned, this isn't the happiest of stories. It is beautiful though, and so very important.

      Gail, Hannah, Bridget, Lizzie and Flavia couldn't be more different from one another when the book begins. Learning each of their unique personalities was actually one of my favorites parts of this story. My heart was pulled in all directions while I slowly fell into each one of their lives. Some meek, some angry, but all stronger women then they could ever know. That is, until they came together as a group. I was so impressed at how bluntly, and yet at the same time sensitively, True tackled the concept of men with sex addiction, and how it affects their wives and families. I adored that she didn't lump all of these characters into one coping mechanism. She allowed them their own flaws, and poor decisions, which ultimately made this a much more satisfying story.

      What's even more brilliant about this story is the simple fact that it's all forward movement. There's very little fluff, or filler. It's all decisions, consequences, and tons of human growth. Of course, while this was utterly satisfying to read, it also meant that it was emotionally draining as well. I ran the full gambit of emotions while I followed these women on their journey. I felt rage, despair, hope, and so much sadness that it almost overwhelmed me. If I can give credit where credit is due, Sylvia True definitely has mastered the art of pacing. It was perfection.

      I can't state enough how impressed I was with The Wednesday Group. Where I started out wary that I wasn't going to feel involved enough, I ended up completely enmeshed in these women's lives. I can't recommend this enough.
    • 5/5
      The Wednesday Group by Sylvia True is an extraordinary work of psychological fiction. When I read the book synopsis I was hesitant that I would be reading about sexual acts, something I had no intention of doing, thankfully the book is about betrayal rather than focusing on the sexual aspects of those betrayed. True delves into the minds of five women who are trying to deal with their husbands’ sexual addictions. The Wednesday Group is told through the voices of the five women in a counseling group Gail, Hannah, Bridget, Lizzy, and Flavia, as well as the voice of their counselor. Each woman is strong and successful and trying desperately to come to terms with their respective husbands’ addictions and trying to learn how to move forward with their respective lives. True tackles the topic of sex addiction through a small counseling session, where we see what it is like not for the addict, but rather for the spouse of the addict. True tackles this topic brilliantly, with sensitivity, honesty, and immense care. All five of her main characters are humanized, betrayed, and through them the reader is able to witness the ripple affect of each betrayal as it plays out, as no two cases are exactly the same. The Wednesday Group is a deeply powerful and empowering look at life, love, friendship, marriage, and of course betrayal. I highly recommend The Wednesday Group, especially to book discussion groups.
    • 5/5
      “The Wednesday Group,” a debut novel by Sylvia True, is a terrific work of psychological fiction. In my opinion, what the book does best is to create five very different and very authentic female characters. Each character has a marvelous distinct literary voice. This is the type of character development that you’d expect from a master literary craftsperson, yet somehow this debut novelist comes out of nowhere and pulls it off as if it were second nature. Each of the women in this novel is in emotional crisis. We, the readers, are invited to hitch a ride along with them as they journey through the minefields of psychological transition. Open this book and meet Lizzy, Bridget, Hannah, Gail, and Flavia: five emotionally tattered women who come together every Wednesday evening to form a five-person therapy group under the guidance of a professional counselor. On the surface, these women are an unusually good-looking group…and they’re married to good-looking men, too. Their lives seem ideal, and perhaps to some, very enviable. However, very early in the book, as we get to know each character, we start to see how genuinely unique and different they are from each other. These women come from totally different educational and economic levels; there is a wide difference in ages; they have different goals and interests in life; they each have different personalities; and perhaps most fascinating of all, they each have completely different styles for dealing with emotional pain. Of course, what these women have in common—the problem that brings them together in group therapy—is that their husbands have been clinically diagnosed as sex addicts. At the beginning of the group, all the women are committed to their marriages. Each grasps that what has happened in her marriage is not her problem. They understand—at least on a factual and theoretical level, that their husbands have a disease. However, that doesn’t make it easier for them to deal with it emotionally. What the women hope to gain from their therapy group is support and understanding in dealing with their common issues of shame, anger, rejection (especially sexual rejection), guilt, and lack of control. Sylvia True has written an exceptional debut. It took me a while to get into this book, but by the time I’d finished it, I was extremely pleased I’d given the book a chance…that I’d taken the psychological journey alongside these five emotionally fragile and courageous women. I learned a great deal…plus I was entertained by a story that actually developed into somewhat of a suspense-filled thriller toward the end. The focus of the book is, at all times, squarely on the women’s emotional and psychological transitions. The book devotes very little time to covering the men, their situations, personalities, and quite different types of sexual addictions. For the sake of this review summary, it is enough to know that one is addicted to Internet pornography, another to making sexual conquests through chat rooms and online meet-up-sites, another to hooking up briefly for sexual purposes in public bathrooms with anonymous men; another to groping women sexually in public places like subways, and the last, to having serial sexual liaisons with his college-aged students. Each man has been diagnosed as a sexual addict through some type of clinical evaluation. Each man has either completed therapy or is currently involved in therapy. Each is committed to stopping his sexually addictive behaviors and committing himself to his marriage. The book is written in the third person, with the point of view alternating between the five women as well as their therapist. All chapters consist of a series of scenes with action and dialogue. The effect is a work of fiction that is exceptionally genuine, honest, immediate, and authentic. The author is a high school chemistry teacher. She has a sister who is a psychiatrist. She conducted many one-on-one interviews with women living through these same issues before writing this novel. I’m sure much of what is here is a composite of what she learned during those interviews. There is much here that reads like the truth.If you love psychological fiction, this is definitely something you should not miss. I think this novel has outstanding cinematic potential. Hollywood, please take note. This would make a terrific movie.
    • 5/5
      Meet Hannah, Gail, Lizzy, Bridget, and Flavia -- five very different women whose lives might have never intersected under ordinary circumstances. If they had, it is almost certain they’d have been anything but friends. Yet, these women share a painful secret that brings them together in a weekly support group. Their husbands are sex addicts. There’s Hannah who finds it impossible to open up and share with the other members of the group, and Flavia, an immigrant, who worries her broken English will impede her communication with the women. Then, there’s Gail. The eldest and most refined of the group, she insists that her marriage is on the mend after therapy and the benefit of other types of groups. She’s a sharp contrast to the much-younger and less refined Bridget, who hurls out vulgar obscenities to display her anger and mask her pain. Lizzy’s biggest concern is that her husband is no longer attracted to her. Together, they navigate through the rage and pain of betrayal, even as their husbands’ lies continue to unwind and wreak havoc in their daily lives. Debut author Sylvia True has created a masterpiece with “The Wednesday Group.” The subject of sexual addiction has never been touched upon with such intelligence and class, focusing on the effects of the infidelity aspect instead of the actual sex. In the book, Hannah remarks to herself that “if she had to come up with a word that was the antonym of the word love, it would be addiction.” However, betrayal is universal, and Sylvia True does a brilliant job of creating diverse characters who bond over their shared secrets and pain. True’s writing in “The Wednesday Group” has been dubbed “cinematic.” Her book has been labeled “riveting” and “absorbing” by other reviewers and authors alike. And the praise isn’t unearned. She seems to know what to write and how to write it. Sylvia True doesn’t waste time on boring, rambling narration. Instead, she lets the characters reveal themselves through smart, realistic dialogue and honest interior monologue. The decision to write in third person present tense was a daring one, one that can prove terminal in books by new writers. It can be hard to read and even harder to write. But True didn’t just pull it off. She nailed it. Her choice of point-of-view and tense is what makes the story so riveting, absorbing, and cinematic.“The Wednesday Group” isn’t a must-read. Too many books have that designation. Instead, “The Wednesday Group” is a soon-to-be favorite. That’s why you’ll want to make sure you read it.
    • 4/5
      You hear about sex addiction on the news, lately you hear about it more and more. You can try to understand what it is like for the family of that person, but you know you will never really know. True is able to take you deep into the world of not the addict but their wives and it is a story worth reading.

      It was so easy to identify with the women, all at different phases of their lives, that are going through similar situations, in that their spouses are sex addicts, but their stories are still so different. Not only could you identify with them, but the compassion that True is able to make you feel for them is deep and true.

      The book was easy to read, and hard to put down, and was read in 2 days. The only thing I did not like about this book was the ending. I wanted to know more about how their lives continued to unfold and what happened to the ladies and their families. This is a great first book by True.
    • 5/5
      Sexual addiction is not easy to understand, and while this book sheds only a little light on the actual disorder, it gives great insight into the impact of a husband/father's sexual addiction on his wife and children. This novel tells the story of five women who are brought together by a therapist who forms a support group for wives whose husband's have sexual addictions. As each of these women develop trust in the other group members they divulge more and more of the sense of betrayal, the pain and anger, and the self-doubt, that they are experiencing. Just as the sexual addictions manifest differently in each of their husbands, so they deal with their own pain in different ways, but are able to give each other support, understanding, and to draw strength from each other. It is hard to believe this is a debut novel, it is so well written and so insightful. I won this book from Bookreporter.com.
    • 5/5
      To be honest when I first read the description of this book I was worried that a book about the wives of sex addicts wouldn't be that interesting and just filled with pages of raunchy sex scenes-- almost like a 50 Shades AA meeting. Thankfully I was completely wrong. When I got this book in the mail yesterday I didn't plan on reading the entire book in one sitting, but I did. Sylvia True did an amazing job making the characters personalities and their lives interesting and engaging. Because of their situations the girls bond despite their varying lives and ages. I love that the book switches between perspectives of the girls in the group to give us more of a one on one bond with each one. Can't wait to read more from this author.
    • 5/5
      A special thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Nice Cover! Sylvia True delivers a compelling and powerful debut, THE WEDNESDAY GROUP, a group of women; different personalities, and ages, from all walks of life, and professions, linked by one painful, and real subject —presently taking over their lives, their family, and their innermost secret thoughts. Living with a sex addict. THE WEDNESDAY GROUP, addresses the emotional journey, the pain, the desperation, and in the end a safe haven, a place of support in order to make changes, develop friendship, receive guidance, and perspective, no matter how fearful or shameful, it may seem.Bridget, Hannah, Lizzy, Flavia, and Gail share a secret. They are married to sex addicts. From porn, chat rooms, young girls, to mail prostitutes. How will they cope, survive, heal, accept, forgive, or begin to start over, to recover? Just like alcohol, drugs, abuse, cheating, gambling, and any other addiction . . . there are signs, do they choose to ignore them, denial, or face them head on? To stay, or to go…. Each of the gals in the group use different tactics with an array of heartfelt raw emotions. True dives into this highly-charged topic with honesty, clarity, sensitivity, compassion, and humor— for an absorbing exploration into the deep personal emotions which can create havoc on a spouse’s self-esteem, as well as personal, family, and career lives. When "their" husbands' problems become their own. An outstanding job of character development with an array of real personalities, versus clinical statistics – drawing you in, as you become personally invested in the fate of each woman. Meet THE WEDNESDAY GROUP: Hannah, a homemaker, catches her husband having sex with a male prostitute in a public restroom (this was the most powerful scene, as she follows him, and in the bathroom stall, will keep you on the edge of your seat-heartbreaking). You feel her fear and shame. For me, Hannah had the most difficult task to overcome. How will this affect her, her family? Is her husband using his past as an excuse? Were there unresolved issues he brought into the marriage, and did Hannah have her eyes open, or was she just wanting a perfect family and ignored the signs? What about diseases he may pass to her? Does she need attention from another man in order to realize she is worth loving, self-worth? How will they explain this to her children without damaging them? Gail, a prominent Boston judge, continues to receive letters from her husband’s latest girlfriend, while her husband, a theology professor, has sex with grad students. Gail is the most put together on the exterior, highly professional and intelligent, and less outward emotion. She compartmentalizes, defends, and justifies that her husband has changed. However, could she be in denial, and down deep does she really realize this as why she uses food, as an escape? Is she more interested in outward appearances? Bridget, a psychiatric nurse at a state hospital, with a husband addicted to chat rooms, and match making websites. She is the wittiest, most verbal and outgoing, says exactly what is on her mind, like it, or not. She is aggressive and emotional. In the end, she may be as insecure as the others when it comes time to being alone, on her own. Most readers will relate to her. Beneath her rough exterior, she has a heart, and slowly learns to care for the others. Loved her scene with the last F me session which backfires on her. Lizzy, a high school teacher, is married to a porn addict, who is withdrawn and uninterested in sex with her. Lizzy is the most insecure, shy, and needs confirmation of herself and takes her husband’s lack of interest personally. She seeks desperately to understand his motives. Always searching for ways to interest him. Will she be able to stand on her own two feet, whenever her own career is jeopardized by association. How far will her husband go, or how much will he lose before he changes?Flavia, a librarian, is at work, when someone brings to her attention an article that stated her husband had been arrested for groping a teenage girl on the subway. He must face court, and Flavia must decide if she will stay or go. Flavia did not have a big role in the group; however, thought she was funny and loved her free spirit. With the language barrier, loved the part when she thought one of the gals needed to medicate before having sex, instead of meditate. Also liked her idea of dressing up in heels, lipstick, and walking down the street. She was a nice addition to the group. Of course there is a lot of drama surrounding Kathryn, the young psychologist running the group, with her controlling supervisor. Unfortunately, many women whose husbands are sexually addicted blame themselves and feel they may not be adequate physically, or have done something to provoke the behavior. As the feelings of shame worsen over time, they are less likely to seek the professional help needed to reach their own recovery. As in this case, it took a lot for them to open up, and share their shameful hidden secrets. In many cases, the male enters the marriage with deep-rooted and long-held intimacy problems which can be held in secret for years, as we learn from the novel. Glad to see this issue being brought front and center for awareness, to demonstrate help is out there. Sylvia addresses sex addiction, which is real, and widely apparent in today’s fast-paced busy stressful world of temptations, and in a time when sex is readily available, through the web and other areas of social media. Even our minister openly discusses this problem, as you look around the congregation and wonder what lies and secrets, which couple, what man, or woman is hiding behind the perfect façade. Loved the part when they dressed up and went out for drinks, as this was as important as the group session time, as they open up to one another!A look into the psychological barriers women are facing and its impact on their lives. An engaging novel of lies, betrayal, trust, friendship, marriage, addiction, and relationships. Looking forward to reading more from this new talented author!
    • 5/5
      We are treated to an up close and personal viewing of a group therapy for wives of sex addict husbands. This was a very fast read and the writing was so visual, I was imagining I was attending a stage play. Each husband has a different type of addiction, i.e. porn, professor with grad students, etc. The women are not easily bonded, although relationship develop as the sessions pass. My thanks to the author and Goodreads for a complimentary copy.