THE BREAKDOWN LANE is much more than just another story of how a
family copes when the head of the household walks out on them. Add
a newly diagnosed, debilitating illness for the wife, and you have
the makings of an extraordinary book by accomplished writer
Jacquelyn Mitchard. This novel shows how family dynamics shift
dramatically whenever any major change occurs within the family
unit.

Still beautiful at midlife, Julieanne seemed to have it all: a
loving husband with a solid, professional career, three healthy
children, caring friends, and enough money to indulge her passions
of ballet classes and fashion. She even dabbled at a job of sorts
--- writing a weekly advice column entitled "Excess Baggage."

This domestic picture disintegrated when Leo announced he needed
air and craved a change. He had been giving some not-so-subtle
clues that something was amiss but Julieanne failed to recognize
the warnings. When he announced that he really was leaving home for
several months, Julieanne argued passionately to no avail. Leo's
mind was made up. He promised to keep in constant communication and
to return home renewed and refreshed in a few months.

Leo did not keep in touch at all. Nor did he return as promised.
Instead, he joined an alternative community in Vermont, far from
the family he abandoned back in Wisconsin. He even set up a
household with a woman half his age and started another family with
her.

Julieanne experienced various puzzling physical problems, which
turned out to be multiple sclerosis. Between her frightening new
diagnosis and Leo's abandonment of their family, Julieanne felt
overwhelmed. At times she became quite ill and helpless, taking to
her bed. This often left Gabe, Caroline, and Aury to fend for
themselves. They got some help from Julieanne's best friend, Cathy,
and Leo's aging parents, who were horrified by their son's bizarre
behavior.

Teenager Gabe became his mother's rock. He looked after preschooler
Aury and became a surrogate father figure to her. Gabe struggled
with a serious learning disability that made school seem like
torture for him. Reading was difficult for him but he could easily
write. Together Gabe and Cathy often wrote Julieanne's advice
column. Caroline, a self-absorbed teenager, was little help. She
was seldom home and tried to ignore the problems that threatened to
overwhelm her family.

However, it was Caroline who approached Gabe with the daring idea
of finding their father. She felt sure she could talk Leo into
returning home once he was aware just how badly they all needed
him. So Gabe and Caroline concocted a series of lies, sharing their
real plans with only one adult (Cathy) and embarked upon the
journey from Wisconsin to New England. Their trip had several
unexpected hazards, but they did locate Leo who wasn't exactly
thrilled to be reminded of his family back in Wisconsin.

What choices Gabe made about his future, which parent Caroline
decided to live with, how Julieanne adapted to her illness and her
future, and how the family dynamics changed after Leo left, are
told through two perspectives: Julieanne narrating in the first
person, interspersed with entries from Gabe's journal.

THE BREAKDOWN LANE is hardly a gloom and doom story that leaves the
reader in a mental funk. Several characters actually become
energized and strengthened by adversity. And there are successes,
as when Julieanne's advice column becomes syndicated and Gabe
learns to trust his instincts. The main theme of the story --- that
we own what happens to us and thus can choose not to be victims ---
makes this a book to remember long after we've read it.