Off the Map

Tessa, about to turn 40, loses her job to downsizing and her husband to a fertile woman. She and her co-worker/best friend run off to a friend's supposedly vacant luxury home in Costa Rica. The Jerry Garcia roadie care-taker is missing and a crochety German woman and a pregnant teenager are living in the main house. Tessa sets out to discover what they know about his disappearance. A handsome Latin neighbor adds spice to the mix. This cast of characters doesn't give Tessa much time to lick her wounds. In dealing with the problems they present, she re-evaluates her own priorities. This is no romance. Off the Map is a coming of age story. I cheered for Tessa all the way.

In Detroit even though they were part of the downsizing team and been local anomalies by loyally staying at the Midwest National Bank for seventeen years, Tessa Wright and her friend and boss Kate are fired by the corporate angel of death Simon Pearson. On top of that Tessa's spouse Jack has given up on her as she has neglected him while doing the bank's downsizing mission for the past few months; Jack is missing. Tessa and Kate, who also has male problems, are depressed and need a life make-over to find a modicum of happiness that neither had during the banking era of their lives. They head to Costa Rica for some R & R at a friend's vacation home. In Playa Blanca they meet two squatters, who have deeper problems and issues than the Americans; as Tessa and Kate share this abode with these two women, they learn to live. OFF THE MAP is an intriguing comparative look between the downsized lives of the two Americans against that of the squatters. Each of the four females seem unique with differing personifies so that the audience understands what motivates each one. Comparing the depth of problems is a two edged sword as perspective is fascinating to observe but also overwhelming as none of the female foursome is deeply exposed to the reader. Still this is a fine tale that showcases the relativity of tribulations. Harriet Klausner