In Forster's heartwarming ode to life (after Getting Some of Her Own
), Petra Fields of Ellicott City, Md., learns she has an inoperable brain tumor. Only 36 years old and a single mom, she resolves to face her diagnosed four to six months of life with dignity, so when Rev. Jasper Collins tells her to make a list of people she's wronged to ask for their forgiveness, she hops to it. Most important? Telling her 18-year-old daughter, Krista, that her father is actually not dead. But after apologizing to others (like her neighbor, whose husband she slept with), Petra gets fed up with apologizing and heads off on a monumental road trip that takes her to San Francisco, where she falls in love. She meets other admirers at tourist stops, and, after a transformative visit to Martin Luther King's Tomb, Petra heads home ready to face whatever comes Although Forster doesn't break new ground with this “terminal patient becomes enlightened” tale, it's still wise and wonderful as it points out, once again, the importance of honesty and appreciating what you have while you have it. (Oct.)
