Do They Wear High Heels in Heaven?

I don't often read "chick lit" romances, just because most of them remind me of an episode of Sex and the City--and I'm not a fan of the show. I am so, so happy that I picked up Erica Orloff's DO THEY WEAR HIGH HEELS IN HEAVEN? though, because this story transcends typical "chick lit" books. Lily has just turned the big 4-0. With two children, the teen-aged Tara and seven-year-old Noah, an ex-husband endearingly called The Spawn of Satan who has a child-bride in London, and a gay best friend, Michael, Lily lives a full life. She's also a columnist for the local newspaper, and even though her dog is now wearing a t-shirt that says "My Bi**h is 40", she has a very fulfilling life. Her editor at the paper, Joe, wants her to get a mammogram done for Breast Cancer Awareness month. [...]. Except good humor isn't going to get her through this one. There's a spot on her breast that the doctors are worried about, and rightfully so. Lily has cancer, the bad kind that has already spread to her lymph nodes, and life is about to get a whole lot more complicated. DO THEY WEAR HIGH HEELS IN HEAVEN? is, to put it simply, amazing. Filled with laughter, tears (have a box of Kleenex handy!), and the ups and downs of daily life, Erica Orloff has captured everything there is to love, friendship, and tragedy. One of my favorite chapters in the book is the part where Lily comes up with questions for God, besides the high heels in heaven one. Why do bad things happen to good people? Why is there cancer, not to mention snakes and cockroaches? Why is a good man hard to find? Is Satan real? Does God really have a problem with gay people? Do dogs go to heaven? Most importantly, why does Lily have to die before she's old? This book is a winner. The love between Lily and Michael, and that between Lily and her children, is perfectly told. You won't go wrong with this book, and the tears you'll shed while reading it are well worth it.

Lily and Michael have been the best of friends since she tried to burn down their apartment building in a failed attempt at cooking. They have weathered bad boyfriends, bad haircuts, the birth of her children, the breakup of her marriage, the emergence of AIDS, and the fall of disco music. Now they are faced with their most demanding challenge. As a gimmick for Breast Cancer Awareness month, Lily's editor asks her to "get her breasts smashed and write about it." Lily, a humorous New York columnist dreads the mammogram, but nothing prepares her for what they find, and soon she's with the big C - cancer - and the battery of chemo and radiation that follows. Her cancer is aggressive stage 4, and she needs to get her affairs in order, including determining who will care for her children - 15 year old Tara and 8 year old Noah. Neither of them have seen or heard much from their estranged father since he had an affair with a student, dumped the family after Noah's birth, moved to England, and started a new family. Lily wants Michael to care for them since he has been the father figure in their lives. As her time draws near, she has to convince Michael that he is ready for this responsibility. But is Michael ready to face a life without his best friend? Orloff, known for her sassy heroines takes a departure in subject matter, and in doing so, has created a poignant story of love, friendship, and death. Each chapter cleverly bounces between Michael and Lily's points of view (interspersed with excerpts from his long-awaited novel and her column). The story reveals a love so pure between two people who although there is no romance between them, are each other's soul mate. You will laugh; you will cry; and you will think. Despite the subject matter, it truly is an uplifting story that will not be easily forgotten.

Orloff pulls off a perfect light read using such a heavy topic. Not only that, but she incorporates gay romance in a novel for a straight audience. Although published by a Harlequin imprint, this book really isn't a romance novel in the traditional sense. But it is a very fun, light and highly emotional read. The feelings are honest and the plot never gets sappy or too sad. Orloff always manages to keep the mood upbeat. Red Dress ink should be proud to have Do They Wear High Heels in Heaven?

When I picked this book up at the bookstore, I did so thinking it was going to be some hilarious fun story. In actuality, this story was as serious as they come, and with it's serious theme it never seemed to lose sight of the humor I expected. This was a terrific read. Many men would refer to it, for lack of a better term, as a "chick novel." Here is one "guy" who truly enjoyed it. The relationship between Lily and Michael was heart-warming yet intense. They are both writers, one a newspaper columnist and the other a novelist. Through their personal stories, and additional first person narratives the reader truly comes to feel a part of their lives, a life we realize in the end is a life they so deeply share. I loved this book. It is an important novel on several levels. The sub-plot between Michael and his dad will let many readers know to never give up hope. It was a quick, easy read and I recommend it very highly. Erica, I'm off to buy another one of your stories asap. Guy De Rosa California

Newspaper columnist Lily Waters, author of Divorce Survival Guide and single mother of two (Noah and Tara), just turned forty years old takes a mammogram as part of a human interest story. However, the journalist is shocked when the doctor reports the test results are positive and he follows up with a biopsy. Not long afterward, Lily learns she has stage four cancer. Lily knows she is dying, but worries more about what will become of her children. Her only hope is that her best friend Hudson University English Literature Professor Michael will raise her kids although he is gay as she knows their father will not be there for them. Michael as always is there for Lily, who is starting to show the signs of her ailment. Michael hides his pain at his upcoming loss as Lily is like a beloved sister to him, but he must show no hurt or fear because the kids need him. This is a terrific insightful look at an individual who uses humor to hide her fears of dying and what will become of her children. The well written but sad story line cleverly uses the chick lit sub-genre to raise the awareness of the deep emotional cut cancer brings to families and friends through the gloom and anguish of the key characters. Lily is a fabulous soul struggling to cope with her upcoming death and knowing that her openly gay best friend, who is in a relationship out in the open in the story line, is the best person to care for her children. This is a great insightful work that takes the typically lighthearted chick lit format into new horizons. Harriet Klausner