Avon Books (Paperback), ISBN 0-380-73198-3
Get out the tissue box. When I Fall in Love delivers a three-hanky read. But what else would you expect from Iris Rainer Dart, the author of Beaches? Just the mention of Beaches makes me tear up.  

When I Fall in Love sings a love song -- a romance with a happy, fractured fairy-tale ending. An ending I want to embrace. An ending Dart encourages us to embrace, but one which would make some elements of "Society" cluck and shake their head. 

Lily Benjamin, typical career woman and single parent, lives with her foot stomping the gas pedal to the floor. When not hurling herself into her work as comedy writer for the sitcom Angel's Devils, she rushes to provide the necessities for handsome, athletic, popular, teenage son, Bryan. Lily even provides Bryan a surrogate mother in Elvira, the best-ever housekeeper. 

But, Lily taps the brakes when faced with the too-good-to-be-true cardiologist who wants to marry her. A previous lover walked out on her. Yet when she considers Dr. Mark's body (sculpted by Michelangelo or was that Leonardo?) and his profession (so respectable) and his income (so comfortable) and his face…. Mark is every woman's dream. And he loves Lily. 

But the idyll ends. After 13 years, Lily's boss and mentor exits, followed closely by the beloved Elvira. Enter the new boss, Charlie Roth. Lily's life veers off course.  

Charlie, who looks like Quasimodo, declares war on Lily. During their first writer's meeting, he tries to throw her out the window. At the same time Lily's perfect son faces death and the specter of a horrific future. Lily tries to protect her broad-shouldered baby, but her life hurtles down Bryan's detour. The two must throw out the traditional road map and look for new directions -- directions held by none other than Charlie Roth. 

Dart makes sure we know which direction she plans to take this book by quoting from Antoine De Saint-Exupery's The Little Prince: 

And here is my secret, a very simple secret. It is only with the heart that one can see. What is essential is invisible to the eye. 

Although Dart's writing style sometimes distances the reader from the characters, this thought-provoking book make you laugh and cry while showing the important things in life. Dart seeks to open our eyes and see the invisible people around us -- people with imperfections, disabilities, disfigurements. She forces us to admit our attitudes, our prejudices, then proceeds to set us free from them. When I Fall In Love offers more than an enjoyable read. It provides a necessary read for everyone who believes in true love. 

Dawn Goldsmith

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