Val Leone, the protagonist in Maria Anne Lenihan’s new novel, “Morning Glory Girl,” has a bit of a problem. Actually, it’s a career-threatening one, so it weighs heavily on her life. After six years on the partner track at a New York corporate law firm, Val is under a lot of pressure, sending her life into a spiral that takes her to Martha’s Vineyard to try to figure out her next step. Much like Val, Lenihan’s grandmother has a house on the Island and has spent time here every summer.
In a recent interview, Lenihan explains, “Val’s arc was inspired by real life. I’m a corporate attorney who experienced burnout, and I had my own aha moment where I sat back and considered whether what I’m dedicating all my time, energy, mental health, and sleep to is worth it. Was that what I wanted out of my life and career? Is this what I really want to do, or is it what society expects? I hope the book inspires people to reflect on their own decisions, and if you’re not happy, take a page out of Val’s book and re-evaluate, because it’s never too late.”
The instigating event that kicks off the novel is when the grueling life gets to Val so much that she has a panic attack. It’s so intense that she faints in front of the head partner when he tells Val she hasn’t been producing her work fast enough, even though she’s virtually killing herself on the latest deal.
Val keeps pushing, and in her exhaustion considers, “Didn’t I want to make partner? Didn’t I want to make that kind of money? The prestige, the recognition of my talent and intellect, the admiration of clients and other attorneys, and my family … It wasn’t just me that had sacrificed; my parents worked so hard to give me these opportunities.
“I have to be successful.
“I’d just have to get through this deal and then take a couple of days off to catch my breath. Like every other demanding deal I’d worked on in the past six years.”
When Val burns to a crisp, she has no choice but to take a three-month medical leave. She tells her parents, “I’m overweight and exhausted and — miserable … I haven’t gone to the gym in months. And even when I do have time to see my friends or do anything that’s not work, I don’t enjoy it … I don’t know what I want, but it’s not this.”
And what better place to go than her grandmother Mimi’s house on Martha’s Vineyard, where she’d spent every summer growing up? Lenihan lands us on-Island, with familiar Vineyard specifics, such as a picnic at Menemsha and visits to Morning Glory Farm. It’s there, in fact, that we first meet Luke, an extremely charming owner of a local construction company that builds affordable housing. Lenihan writes of Val’s first sighting of him, “I realized too late that I was staring. My options were to pretend I wasn’t and flee to another section of the store, or say something to justify why I was looking at him.
‘Hi,’ I blurted.
‘Hi,’ he replied, amusement dancing across his face. One of his dark eyebrows rose slightly.
‘Why was I saying hi? Why would someone say hi to a stranger in a store?
‘Um, so …’ I nodded toward the stacks of pie boxes he was scrutinizing. ‘What do you usually buy here? I haven’t been back in ages.’
His face changed to a friendly smile, white teeth appearing within his neatly trimmed, dark beard. Wow, he’s handsome.”
Luke, a devoted single dad, reappears soon after, when Val, who is looking for a job, ends up babysitting his daughter, spunky 8-year-old Luna. But this isn’t the only person with whom sparks fly. There is also Max, high-powered and working in finance and wealth management. He wines and dines Val with champagne and the compliments she thirsts for.
The two men — Max, impressed by her corporate job, and Luke, who supports her desire to be a writer — reflect Val’s conflicting, seesawing feelings about whether to return to the fast-paced life of a lawyer she had her heart set on, or leave it all behind to follow a passion she’s had since college. With the end of her three-month leave fast approaching, the race is on for Val to determine her true heart’s desire.
“Morning Glory Girl: A Novel” by Amaria Anne Lenihan. Available at Edgartown Books and Bunch of Grapes.
