Do They Wear High Heels In Heaven?

By Erica Orloff

Book Description:

I'm Lily, a New York newspaper columnist, mother of two, divorcee of one and partner in crime to Michael, English professor, novelist and best friend extraordinaire. We've been friends forever -- well, since I nearly burned down our apartment building while trying to cook. Michael and I have weathered disco, bad fashion, bad perms, bad boyfriends -- for both of us -- my failed marriage, parenthood and writer's block. Laughter has helped -- and so have the martinis.
But now we face our biggest challenge: the C word. And if I have my way, Michael will be giving up his freewheeling bachelor ways and settling down once and for all. Because I have some very specific wishes for who should take over parental duty when I'm gone. Of course, I refuse to take this lying down -- even when the doctors tell me to lie down and shut up. Because although I'm sick, I'm determined to wear my high heels and lipstick. I'm gonna look good or die trying, dammit.

Reviews:

From Booklist
Orloff, author of Diary of a Blues Goddess (2003) and Mafia Chic (2004), tackles the weighty issue of cancer in her new novel. Michael and Lily have been best friends for half of their lives, and Michael is more of a father to Lily's two children than her philandering ex-husband. So when Lily gets a mammogram for a newspaper column she is working on and the doctor discovers a lump, Michael is the one she turns to. Lily is determined not to let the cancer beat her even if it may kill her: she opts for stylish scarves over wigs and continues to write her column. As Lily prepares for the worst-case scenario by putting her affairs in order and arranging for Michael to adopt her children, she is surprised to find love with a fellow cancer patient. And Michael, who has studiously avoided commitment, falls hard for a handsome chef. Readers will recognize Orloff's trademark snappy writing and lovable characters even as they appreciate her moving exploration of a tragic situation. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

An Absolutely Amazing, Wonderful Story, January 26, 2006
Reviewer: TeensReadToo.com "Jennifer Wardrip" (Central Illinois)
I don't often read "chick lit" romances, just because most of them remind me of an episode of Sex and the City--and I'm not a fan of the show. I am so, so happy that I picked up Erica Orloff's DO THEY WEAR HIGH HEELS IN HEAVEN? though, because this story transcends typical "chick lit" books.

Lily has just turned the big 4-0. With two children, the teen-aged Tara and seven-year-old Noah, an ex-husband endearingly called The Spawn of Satan who has a child-bride in London, and a gay best friend, Michael, Lily lives a full life. She's also a columnist for the local newspaper, and even though her dog is now wearing a t-shirt that says "My Bi**h is 40", she has a very fulfilling life.

Her editor at the paper, Joe, wants her to get a mammogram done for Breast Cancer Awareness month. As if a birthday, her first gray pubic hair, and life in general aren't enough, she now has to endure having her boobs squished into pancakes for the sake of the common good.

Except good humor isn't going to get her through this one. There's a spot on her breast that the doctors are worried about, and rightfully so. Lily has cancer, the bad kind that has already spread to her lymph nodes, and life is about to get a whole lot more complicated.

DO THEY WEAR HIGH HEELS IN HEAVEN? is, to put it simply, amazing. Filled with laughter, tears (have a box of Kleenex handy!), and the ups and downs of daily life, Erica Orloff has captured everything there is to love, friendship, and tragedy.

One of my favorite chapters in the book is the part where Lily comes up with questions for God, besides the high heels in heaven one. Why do bad things happen to good people? Why is there cancer, not to mention snakes and cockroaches? Why is a good man hard to find? Is Satan real? Does God really have a problem with gay people? Do dogs go to heaven? Most importantly, why does Lily have to die before she's old?

This book is a winner. The love between Lily and Michael, and that between Lily and her children, is perfectly told. You won't go wrong with this book, and the tears you'll shed while reading it are well worth it.

Heart-wrenching story of love, friendship and death, April 10, 2006
Reviewer: T. Vest "tracyja9" (Fairfield, CA United States)

Lily and Michael have been the best of friends since she tried to burn down their apartment building in a failed attempt at cooking. They have weathered bad boyfriends, bad haircuts, the birth of her children, the breakup of her marriage, the emergence of AIDS, and the fall of disco music. Now they are faced with their most demanding challenge.

As a gimmick for Breast Cancer Awareness month, Lily's editor asks her to "get her breasts smashed and write about it." Lily, a humorous New York columnist dreads the mammogram, but nothing prepares her for what they find, and soon she's with the big C - cancer - and the battery of chemo and radiation that follows. Her cancer is aggressive stage 4, and she needs to get her affairs in order, including determining who will care for her children - 15 year old Tara and 8 year old Noah. Neither of them have seen or heard much from their estranged father since he had an affair with a student, dumped the family after Noah's birth, moved to England, and started a new family.

Lily wants Michael to care for them since he has been the father figure in their lives. As her time draws near, she has to convince Michael that he is ready for this responsibility. But is Michael ready to face a life without his best friend?

Orloff, known for her sassy heroines takes a departure in subject matter, and in doing so, has created a poignant story of love, friendship, and death. Each chapter cleverly bounces between Michael and Lily's points of view (interspersed with excerpts from his long-awaited novel and her column). The story reveals a love so pure between two people who although there is no romance between them, are each other's soul mate. You will laugh; you will cry; and you will think. Despite the subject matter, it truly is an uplifting story that will not be easily forgotten.