In Peg, Unhinged, Teri M. Brown introduces Peg
McMann, a fifty-year-old real estate agent whose perfectly curated life
implodes spectacularly when her narcissistic husband, Stephan, leaves her for
younger women. She loses her prestigious job after attacking a rival agent
during the Agent of the Year announcement, and a DUI conviction forces her to
complete community service at Seabreeze House, a domestic violence shelter. But
there is far more going on in Peg’s life than that. Set against the sun-soaked
backdrop of Sunset Beach, North Carolina, the story charts Peg’s journey
through menopausal mayhem, from debilitating hot flashes to hormone-induced
rages, as she attempts to start her own business, survives online dating
disasters, and unexpectedly discovers that her greatest reinvention might come
from embracing rather than fighting her “unhinged” self.
Teri M. Brown crafts an instantly relatable heroine in Peg,
whose “Hey God” letters provide hilarious, raw commentary on the indignities of
life in menopause, from rogue chin hair to catastrophic memory loss, while
revealing the brokenness beneath her snarky armor. The supporting cast shines
with authenticity: the infuriating yet somehow still charismatic ex-husband
Stephan, the shelter resident Monique, whose tough exterior hides profound
trauma, and the gentle Trevor, who harbors his own painful secrets. Sunset
Beach is more than a mere backdrop; its tides and salt air mirror Peg’s
emotional ebbs and flows.
Brown’s narrative voice—alternating between conversational
first-person and Peg’s irreverent correspondence with the divine—expertly
balances laugh-out-loud humor (particularly in her community service mishaps
and cringe-worthy dating app encounters) with genuine poignancy about financial
insecurity, estranged family relationships, and the redemptive power of female
friendship. The novel confidently joins the ranks of Nancy Thayer’s The
Hot Flash Club and Maria Semple’s Where’d You Go, Bernadette in
its unflinching yet compassionate portrayal of women dealing with midlife chaos.
Peg, Unhinged wasn’t just relatable; it kept me laughing throughout and
utterly entertained. It’s a page-turner.
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