Synopses & Reviews
The poor thing was cold and trembling, abandoned on their front doorstep. Dash, impulsive as always, decides on the spot that they should keep it. But her husband, Andrew, thinks it's the craziest thing he's ever heard. A fight over a scruffy little dog doesn't seem like much of a reason to walk out on your husband of twenty years but the spat over the puppy is just the last of many straws.
Dash is so tired of the faculty parties at Mason-Dixon College that Andrew insists they attend even though he won't mingle with his colleagues, tired of his constant fretting over illnesses he doesn't have, tired of the glass of warm milk he must have every night before bed. Why can't he see that with her mother gone and their daughter off at college, Dash needs something more?
Now, living on her own for the first time in years, Dash can do whatever she wants...if only she could figure out what that is. But every time she starts making plans for the future, she finds herself thinking about the past remembering the mother she's lost, her daughter's childhood, and the husband she isn't entirely sure she wants to leave behind....
By turns poignant and hilarious often on the same page Mad Dash is a novel about the funny ways love has of catching up to us despite our most irrational efforts to leave it behind.
Review
"Patrons will want to read this one for the pure charm of Gaffney's writing." Library Journal
Review
"Gaffney doesn't fuss over plot, instead creating a funny, lighthearted, and tender look at what brings people together, what makes a marriage, and what it takes to keep it together." Booklist
About the Author
New York Times bestselling author Patricia Gaffney lives in southern Pennsylvania with her husband.
Reading Group Guide
1. Everyone has heard the old axiom “Opposites attract.” Do they? And can they last? Dash and Andrew dont have much in common. What attracts them to each other initially? What keeps them together in the long term? How important are shared hobbies and interests to a relationship?
2. Dashs mother passes away just months before Chloe, her only child, leaves home for college. How big a factor do these events play in Dashs decision to leave Andrew? What does it mean to be a member of the “Sandwich Generation”?
3. Both Dash and Andrew claim to be annoyed by the others foibles. What do you find annoying about Dash? About Andrew? What do you find endearing about each of them? Who would you rather be in a long-term relationship with, gender notwithstanding? Why do the quirks we love at first turn into pet peeves over time?
4. The puppy Dash finds on her front porch becomes the catalyst for leaving Andrew. What does the puppy represent to Dash? What does it represent to Andrew?
5. Andrew tried to break things off with Dash after their first night together–why?
6. Like many people in the throes of a midlife crisis, Dash wants to “find herself.” What does this mean? Is it even possible? Does Dash manage to do it during her separation from Andrew?
7. Why is Andrew so reluctant to advance at work? How does his relationship with his father contribute to this? How does Andrew get over this problem?
8. Cottie and Shevlin Bender are happy after years of marriage–why? How are they different from the other couples in Mad Dash? What lessons can be learned from their successful marriage?
9. While living in Virginia, Dash begins to spend time with the Benders son-in-law, a local farmer named Owen. Why is Dash attracted to him? Do you think she has more in common with Owen or with Andrew?
10. Dashs friend Maureen is newly divorced after a long marriage. How is her experience of life after marriage different than Dashs? What do you think of her attitudes about love and marriage?
11. On page 000, Maureen says that only married people can appreciate the allure of loneliness. Why is the thought of being alone attractive to married people? Can you relate to that sentiment? Dash thinks women experience this more than men. What do you think? Is this experience the same regardless of gender?
12. Andrew says that Dash was a good daughter, but Dash harbors a lot of guilt about her mother. Why? Is it warranted? Discuss Dashs actions regarding her mothers thwarted suitor, Mr. Dreessen. What effects do motherhood and her own childs flight from the nest have on Dashs feelings about this? Why does this guilt make it harder for Dash to heal after her mothers death?
13. Her flight to the cabin makes the third time Dash has left Andrew. What happened the other two times? Why did she come back in the past? Whats different now? What does this tendency say about her?
14. Dash believes she will get a lot out of having a whole week to herself at the cabin. Do you think she gets what she wants out of her week of solitude? Would you enjoy having a week all to yourself? What would you do with the time?
15. During their separation, both Dash and Andrew come very close to committing adultery but dont go through with it. Why? What does Dash learn from Owen? What does Andrew learn from Elizabeth?
16. Dash and Andrew come close to making up many times before they actually do. What keeps them from getting back together? Why do they reunite when they finally do?
17. Since shes already decided to go home, how important is Andrews arrival at the cabin? How is Andrews punch significant to Dash, especially in light of her advice to Owen regarding his estranged wife?
18. Once theyve reconciled, Dash admits to herself that she never really planned to stay separated from Andrew. In light of this, do you think the separation was a good thing? For Dash? For Andrew? For them as a couple? What do you think its long-term effects might be?
Use this readers guide as a starting point to discuss the hilarious and poignant Mad Dash.