title: Beside Myself: Recovery From My Family Betrayal and Estrangement - A Memoir
author:  Pamela Fender 
description: Pamela Fender received an English degree at Sonoma State College. She is a member of the Redwood Writers, a branch of the California Writer's Club. Born and raised in the suburbs of Los Angeles, California, she currently lives in Sonoma County, California with her husband Jack, two Havanese dogs and their senior tabby cat. Beside Myself is her first book.
zlib_text: AWAY FROM YOU
  THE SAN DIEGO MARINES SERIES, BOOK TWO
  
  JESS MASTORAKOS
  
  I
  1
  OL I V I A
  f you had told me a year ago that my marriage was on the verge
  of disaster, I wouldn’t have believed you. Now, as I stared up at
  the cabin, about to enter a couples retreat—without my other
  half—the reality of our impending divorce was crystal clear. I sighed,
  shifted the backpack on my shoulder, and adjusted my grip on the
  duffel bag in my hand. If this trip didn’t mean the world to my best
  friend, I wouldn’t even be here.
  As if summoned by my sadness, Ellie appeared on the porch, a
  wide smile on her pretty face. She wore jeans with a flannel button-
  down shirt, her blonde hair twisted into a braid that fell gracefully
  over one shoulder. She was the picture of happiness, and the exact
  opposite of me. My stomach turned as I thought, again, about how
  I’d be the only single person among the couples here for Ellie and
  Spencer’s joint bachelor and bachelorette party trip. The irony was,
  just under a year 