Ursula Maria Mandel

Diary of a Naive Ursula Maria Mandel

Dear Adam,

By the time you read this, I will be in Venice.
There is no casserole in the oven. Smart as you are, I'm sure you can figure out how to cook dinner. The ironing is also not done--all your shirts are in a heap on the bed. Smart as you are and having two hands, I'm sure you can figure out how to iron your shirts.
The laundry isn't done either, although I did mine before I packed my bags. I did the laundry for the kids to give them a head start. . . . Nothing in the house has been dusted, wiped, washed down, straightened, or messed with in any way for a week now, because I was busy packing. I know you didn't notice. . . .
Just in case you wondered where I got the money, given that you always held me on so tight a leash: today, I took half of our savings out of our account--and no, I have no intention of paying you back--why should I?. . . .
 
So begins the story of Kate Hamilton, a neglected wife and exasperated mom of two contemptuous teenagers, whose quest for a destiny of her own becomes a personal triumph.