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A Year in the Life - Book Synopsis


A Year in the Life is the book I'm currently trying to write.  For my final project in my class Contexts of Writing: Writing and Publishing, we had to write up a book proposal.  Here is the synopsis I wrote up for that project.  I don't know if my final story will be exactly like this, but it's a close bet.


            Two years ago, Lily Fitzgerald realized that she no longer knew whose life she was living.  It wasn’t the life she had planned on having when she married Ryan ‘Fitz’ Fitzgerald right out of college.  Eighteen months ago, Lily and Fitz decided that a separation would be a good idea.  Fitz thought he’d move to the cabin and Lily would stay in their Seattle apartment.  Lily had other plans; she decided to move back to her hometown in New Jersey. One year ago, Lily took the advice of her best friend and started writing a self-therapy blog. 
Gina, a marriage counselor, gives Lily the same guidelines and advice she does her clients. Start at the beginning. Introduce yourself. Introduce your spouse. Tell us how you met and go from there.  Remember to post at least twice a week and be honest in what you write. Following these guidelines Lily starts to share her story. She writes about meeting Fitz and their instant dislike of each other that somehow grew into a friendship.  That friendship grew into a relationship and a few months after graduating from college they were married.  Fitz was living out in Seattle working for his uncle and Lily gladly followed him out there.  Three years later neither one was happy but she couldn’t figure out how they got to this point.
After her sister’s wedding, Lily decided she had to focus on herself more than her marriage. While Fitz didn’t agree, he didn’t stop her and helped her pack up their apartment.  It was their last night together before she left they ended up in bed together. Thinking she was just stressed about the move and symbolic end to her marriage, Lily went to the doctors and was surprised to find out she was pregnant. Fitz wants her to move back to Seattle, but she’s more determined than ever to stay in New Jersey to figure it all out.   
Lily gives birth to a baby girl in April with Fitz by her side.  Lily doesn’t know how it happened by he’s sleeping on her couch and always around.  He’s slowly working his way back into her life.  During this time Lily sees the man she fell in love with, the version of Fitz she hasn’t seen in years. After he returns to Seattle, Lily is even more confused about the state of her marriage.
The confusion builds over the next few months after she meets a single father in the waiting room of the doctor’s office. Carlos Borges is raising his son alone after his girlfriend split only weeks after giving birth.  Lily and Carlos’s friendship becomes a close one as they help each other navigate the roles of being a single parent.  They share in the joys of the children’s firsts and the frustration of late nights and worries.
In August Lily flies out to Seattle with Daisy to celebrate Fitz’s birthday.  The plan was to stay two weeks and visit with Fitz’s family who haven’t met the baby.  During their first week, Daisy gets an ear infection and Fitz thinks that a road trip would be fun and an easy way to get Daisy home.  While on this trip, Fitz insists on stopping at numerous scenic overlooks and other road side attractions. His camera is out and snapping pictures in order to document Daisy’s first family vacation.  It isn’t until one of their last stops that Lily gets a look at the skill he has with a camera.  This causes her to think about all the time he spent at the cabin and her anger at him because she didn’t understand his passion.
As December starts, Lily receives a letter from her lawyer.  The eighteen months is almost up all that is left is to sign and file the paperwork.  She has a number of long discussions with the people in her life; all of them will be affected in some way by her decision.  They all want her to make the best decision for herself. Her mother asks her when in the past year was she the happiest.  She was the happiest when she was with Daisy and Fitz.

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