Dear Dotty by Jaclyn Westlake
Dear Dotty is a smashing debut novel written by multi-talented Jaclyn Westlake who in common with her fictional heroine loves dogs, lives in California and has been employed in a variety of careers. Leaning more toward comedy than romance, this charming rom-com also tackles some serious topics. The author has perfectly captured the overwhelming stress of protagonist Rosie Benson who is obsessed with achieving the “perfect life” by pushing to attain success in all endeavors while suffering by dwelling on her perceived failures.
It’s a highly relatable theme for recent high school and college graduates or, indeed, for anyone who is questioning their career choices. Relentless pressure fueled by familial sky-high expectations coupled with her own imagined ambitions must be balanced with natural desires for greater personal satisfactions.
Touching Debut for Contemporary Fiction Readers
As a student in high school and college, her goal had been to obtain the grades necessary to fulfill her dream of becoming a veterinarian. It was a wake-up call and crushing blow in college to discover science and medicine were to prove insurmountable stumbling blocks. Success in sales and marketing appeared to be an ideal fallback career option with the promise of financial stability.
To round it out, a picture-perfect relationship followed by a beautiful wedding and happy marriage would complete her life… in her dreams. Who was she kidding? One night stands and getting fired from her tech start-up company that had barely covered her half of the rent left little room to explore her creative nature, pursue interests and a dream job caring for animals.
Meanwhile, her forever best friend and roommate Marcia who is both gorgeous and a high achiever may have betrayed her. Inadvertently or intentionally, Marcia posted photos on social media of their day at the beach exposing the fact Rosie had called in sick instead of attending a mandatory sales training meeting. Was it worth it?
She now faced the harsh reality that two weeks’ severance pay would not even last until she dried her tears. Their already high rent is rising. Mom has calmly announced that after 30 years of marriage, she is leaving dad and the family home and planning a divorce in order to claim long overdue “me time”. Can Rosie’s life possibly get any worse? Dear reader, you already know the answer.
Life Guidance from Great-Aunt Dotty
At 24 years of age, Rosie Benson feels she is not measuring up and would greatly welcome some reassurance. Great-aunt Dotty, who had always had her back, would speak frankly and introduce calm into her chaos, but she was gone. She had peacefully died at home in her sleep at age 84 leaving a full day already penciled in her online calendar beginning with breakfast with her nephew.
Rosie was beyond bereft and now hopelessly adrift. She had exchanged written communications with her beloved great-aunt since learning the alphabet in first grade, switching from printing to cursive to emails in high school, texting and talking on the phone almost daily. Weekly dinner dates kept her sane and grounded as Dotty served as her sounding board, her inspiration and a shining example of a free-spirit who had always lived life on her own terms.
Never married and childless, she downed martinis, enjoyed good champagne and was a committed vegan. She traveled the world, worked a variety of jobs, primarily as a travel writer, volunteered weekly at an animal sanctuary, splashed in the surf at San Francisco’s nude beach, had lovers of both sexes and did whatever pleased her. Home was a Sausalito bohemian cottage at the top of 67 nearly vertical stairs filled with souvenirs, photographs, art, mementos and with a stunning skyline view of “The City” San Francisco, across the bay.
Dotty knew everyone from the days when Vince Guaraldi was at the piano playing Cast Your Fate to the Wind at the Yacht Dock, a hangout for local celebrities, tourists and houseboat dwellers. (A few years later The Kingston Trio bought the bar and renamed it The Trident attracting the same crowd.) Dottie embraced and celebrated life retaining close ties with blood relatives and chosen family. She is an updated version of Auntie Mame created by Patrick Dennis who dried tears, dispensed sage advice and gloriously shared raucous laughter.
Full of Humor and Heart
While helping to sort Dotty’s belongings to make her home sale-ready Rosie gains access to her email account which contained the addresses of her great-aunt’s many friends. On impulse and to notify them of her sudden death, she sends each person an email asking them to share their connection with and impressions of Dotty. Privately, she continues to write to her as if she were still alive. Gradually Rosie begins to communicate more fully with her parents, her older brother Tommy and his wife Lily who are expecting their first child and at last takes time to assess her own life and desires.
Dear Dotty is full of humor and heart and poses some hard questions about what really matters in life. “What do you want to be when you grow up?” It’s a seemingly innocuous question asked countless times beginning in early childhood that evolves into “What do you do for a living?” The insidious implication being that you are your job, profession or career with a concomitant value judgment tacked on if the title is unimpressive and the income is perceived as low.
I won’t spoil your fun of reading what may be one of the most engaging novels in recent memory. Jaclyn Westlake is a name to remember and is in the company of writers such Jenny Colgan, Emily Henry, Terri-Lynne DeFino and many others who specialize in this light, refreshing genre.
“If you’re always trying to be normal you will never know how amazing you can be.”
~Maya Angelou~
About Jaclyn Westlake:
Jaclyn Westlake is the author of the novel Dear Dotty and an alumna of the Stanford Continuing Studies novel writing program. A recruiter turned career advice columnist, her work has appeared in Forbes, Business Insider, and Inc. She lives in California with her husband and their dachshund mix, Indiana Jones (but you can call him Indy).