Told with the same compassion and humor that drew readers to her bestselling book, Beaches, Iris Rainer Dart's When I Fall in Love is the story of one woman's search for true beauty and strength in today's cruel world. Lily Benjamin may have a great job as a comedy writer and a sweet cardiologist fiancé, but when her 15-year old son Bryan's spinal cord is severed by a gun shot, she can find no solace in humor or medicine. Bryan thinks life as a paraplegic will be dismal, and Lily can't muster any optimism either. When her new boss Charlie Roth shows little patience for her, Lily is dumbstruck. Charlie's attitude strikes her as particularly cruel and insensitive, considering his own disfigurement from cerebral palsy.

Even worse, however, is Charlie's new interest in Bryan. Determined to give Bryan and herself appropriate time to grieve, the last thing Lily wants is to have Charlie storming into the hospital and confronting them with his warped opinions on cartoon cripples. But as Bryan reacts to Charlie's offbeat humor, Lily slowly realizes that Charlie connects with Bryan in a way no one else can. Through Charlie's guidance, humor, and love, both Lily and Bryan gain a new perspective on life. As Lily reflects on her feelings for Bryan, Charlie, and her fiancé, Mark, she struggles to learn that, "It is only with the heart that one can see. What is essential is invisible to the eye."

Tackling the sensitive issues of disability and self-image, Dart's mixture of down-to-earth dialogue and realistic character development keeps the After-School-Special-Syndrome at arm's length. Our heroes have human flaws, and--with the exception of a minor wife-beating character--our villains are sympathetic. The evolution of Lily's own attitudes and outlook is genuine, and readers will enjoy strong secondary characters as well as some heartfelt humor in this unexpected love story.--Nancy R.E. O'Brien

From Publishers Weekly
Laughter is the best medicine, Dart (Beaches) wants us to believe, and she makes her case in a risky, wrenching story with a curious flaw. Though the novel offers endless punning and stand-up material, it's rarely funny, and even with the comic spotlight on the so-unlikely-it's-inevitable romance between two Emmy-level TV comedy writers, Lily Benjamin and Charlie Roth, neither their initial antagonism nor eventual alliance makes for laughs. And given the plot, readers do need those healing peals. In the opening pages, single mother Lily's teenage son, Bryan, is shot; yesterday a promising tennis star, he now faces life as a paraplegic. Lily's fianc?, Mark Freeman, a handsome, kind, terminally unimaginative cardiologist (he gives her heart-shape presents and uses song lyrics to speak his own heart), wants Bryan and Lily to feel the tragedy, mourn their loss, adjust hopes downward. But then there is Charlie, known in the TV industry as the God of Jokes. Crippled in infancy, he was encouraged by his parents to use a no-holds-barred humor as his weapon against prejudice and self-doubt. Charlie preaches a medicine of ruthless humor, toughness and, above all else, gratitudeAfor the cripple, in his view, is freed from the illusion of physical perfection and lives truer to his soul. This main theme is echoed in the subplot, in which Lily's chubby lesbian sister confronts the siblings' judgmental, snobby mother. Other minor characters, like the ensemble of sitcom-writing co-workers, are burdened with a nearly unbearable comic banter attempting an outr? irreverence. Though her formula is decidedly Hollywood, Dart's message, that people aren't what they look like, is sincere; her book takes serious and heartfelt looks at the bigotries of able-bodied folk and the realities of the disabled. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Dart's (e.g., Beaches) latest is a winner, a captivating and somewhat unexpected love story set in the confusing and heart-wrenching world of physical disabilities. Lily Benjamin is a successful television comedy writer. Her new boss, Charlie, is insensitive and obnoxious. He is also disabled. When Lily's athletic teenage son, Bryan, is shot and paralyzed, both Lily and Bryan doubt that they can face the horrifying challenges awaiting them. Charlie, with his outrageous humor and wry outlook, seems to be the only soul able to reach the despondent boy. His growing rapport with Bryan causes Lily to take a second look at the man she once callously dismissed as a crude and unfeeling cripple. Infused with complex characters and situations, this romance won't fail to touch even the most jaded reader. Definitely recommended for almost any public library.-?Margaret Ann Hanes, Sterling Heights P.L., MICopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
You can count on the author of BEACHES and SHOW BUSINESS KILLS for literate, funny dialogue AND heart-ripping sentiment, plus a dollop of Hollywood insider-info. This book may lean a little heavily on the sentiment, but because its principals are TV sitcom writers, there's plenty to chuckle at, too. Reader Susie Breck does a wonderful job in a warm voice that takes no getting used to. She displays just enough empathy and sensitivity in the narrative passages and delineates the characters well. She also succeeds in a delicate task--the portrayal of a physically challenged main character who is described as slow of speech and difficult to understand. S.P. (c) AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Kirkus Reviews
Dart (Show Business Kills, 1995, etc.) returns with yet another commercial tearjerker, a story that has success written all over it. Herself a former comedy writer, Dart presents us with Lily Benjamin, TV comedy writer, whose 15-year-old son, Bryan, has his spinal cord severed by a jealous husband's gunfire. That's the opening scene, hinting horribly that this deeply amusing novel is going to veer off into sober melodrama before it ends. But it doesn'tit stays right on track for a soap-operatic climax. And Lily is surrounded by plum roles for actors. Her boss, hospitalized top comedy writer Harry Green, lies dying of cancer but still flowing with jokes and writing the latest episode of a schlocky sitcom. When Harry dies, he's replaced by Charlie Roth, the God of Jokes to all comedy writers. Sometimes referred to as Quasimodo, Charlie is a physical mess, with a head forever bobbing, a gait so rolling and twisted he can barely climb stepsand a face thats no pleasure to look at, either. When the comedy team gets to work on a new sitcom episode and Lily complains about their cigar smoke, Charlie hangs her by her ankles out the fourth- floor window. Yes, he's stolen this trick from Sid Caesar and Mel Brooks, but even so it doesn't endear him to Lily. Thus when Charlie, with humor and tricks, begins helping fellow cripple Bryan recover his will to live, Lily, now engaged to a blandly handsome cardiologist, is slow to respond. As for the climax, it will go down in pop history when it's filmed. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Book Description
An L.A. television writer, Lily is already juggling a career, a teenage son, a deadbeat ex-husband, and a serious relationship. And as if that weren't enough, she's got to cope with a new boss, Charlie, a talented man with problems of his own.

Romance can bloom in the unlikeliest places, and many a dark cloud proves to have a silver lining. When Lily's son is paralyzed by a stray bullet, Charlie's gruff exterior yields to the sensitive, kind spirit of a man who understands the pain of disability as no one else can. And as Charlie helps the boy rebuild his life, Lily comes to realize that she wants to rebuild her life as well. The delicious surprise of how she chooses to do so will leave no reader unmoved.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Lily Benjamin is a funny, feisty TV comedy writer juggling the problems of a demanding job, single motherhood, and a romantic relationship with a successful cardiologist. When the head writer on her show dies suddenly, an A-list writer named Charlie Roth is hired to come in to save the show. The man is tough, hilarious, and an incurable curmudgeon with terrible problems. But when tragedy strikes Lily and her son, Charlie's gruff exterior crumbles, revealing the kind, sensitive spirit of a man who understands their pain in a way no one else can. And as he helps the mother and son rebuild their world something magical and unexpected happens.

SYNOPSIS

"It will make you laugh, it will make you cry...A powerful, inspiring story."---Pat Conroy on Show Business Kills

"Dart knows her way around a plot and characters...the special bond between the wisecracking movie star and the girl next door will bring tears to the readers' eyes by the end of the book."---Publishers Weekly on Beaches

"Dart, a former TV comedy writer herself, knows her way around a punch line, not to mention Hollywood...Entertaining, trendy, and seeping with baby lust."---Kirkus Reviews on The Stork Club "A wonderful read. Lots of laughs and lots of tears. A lot like life itself."---Bette Midler on Beaches

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Laughter is the best medicine, Dart (Beaches) wants us to believe, and she makes her case in a risky, wrenching story with a curious flaw. Though the novel offers endless punning and stand-up material, it's rarely funny, and even with the comic spotlight on the so-unlikely-it's-inevitable romance between two Emmy-level TV comedy writers, Lily Benjamin and Charlie Roth, neither their initial antagonism nor eventual alliance makes for laughs. And given the plot, readers do need those healing peals. In the opening pages, single mother Lily's teenage son, Bryan, is shot; yesterday a promising tennis star, he now faces life as a paraplegic. Lily's fianc , Mark Freeman, a handsome, kind, terminally unimaginative cardiologist (he gives her heart-shape presents and uses song lyrics to speak his own heart), wants Bryan and Lily to feel the tragedy, mourn their loss, adjust hopes downward. But then there is Charlie, known in the TV industry as the God of Jokes. Crippled in infancy, he was encouraged by his parents to use a no-holds-barred humor as his weapon against prejudice and self-doubt. Charlie preaches a medicine of ruthless humor, toughness and, above all else, gratitude--for the cripple, in his view, is freed from the illusion of physical perfection and lives truer to his soul. This main theme is echoed in the subplot, in which Lily's chubby lesbian sister confronts the siblings' judgmental, snobby mother. Other minor characters, like the ensemble of sitcom-writing co-workers, are burdened with a nearly unbearable comic banter attempting an outr irreverence. Though her formula is decidedly Hollywood, Dart's message, that people aren't what they look like, is sincere; her book takes serious and heartfelt looks at the bigotries of able-bodied folk and the realities of the disabled. (Apr.)

Library Journal

Television comedy writer Lily Benjamin's life plays more like a tragedy. She's a single mother, her mentor just died, her son is paralyzed by a bullet, and the network hires the "God of Jokes," Charlie Roth, to produce her show. Her first meeting with Charlie is disastrous: she has no idea he has cerebral palsy. In fact, she's alternately repulsed by and ashamed of him. However, when Charlie convinces her son to see beyond his wheelchair, Lily must reexamine her own prejudices. Susie Breck gives an incredible performance; her slightly slurred, slow-talking Charlie conveys a real yet positive image. Breck handles the variety of other voices just as skillfully. However, she does not overcome Lily's unsympathetic character; Lily never develops appreciably as a person so is not believable when she declares her love for Charlie. Despite the fine reading, purchase only where Dart is popular.--Jodi L. Israel, MLS, Jamaica Plain, MA Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\

AudioFile - Susan Pochapsky

You can count on the author of BEACHES and SHOW BUSINESS KILLS for literate, funny dialogue AND heart-ripping sentiment, plus a dollop of Hollywood insider-info. This book may lean a little heavily on the sentiment, but because its principals are TV sitcom writers, there's plenty to chuckle at, too. Reader Susie Breck does a wonderful job in a warm voice that takes no getting used to. She displays just enough empathy and sensitivity in the narrative passages and delineates the characters well. She also succeeds in a delicate task--the portrayal of a physically challenged main character who is described as slow of speech and difficult to understand. S.P. cAudioFile, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

Dart (Show Business Kills, 1995, etc.) returns with yet another commercial tearjerker, a story that has success written all over it. Herself a former comedy writer, Dart presents us with Lily Benjamin, TV comedy writer, whose 15-year-old son, Bryan, has his spinal cord severed by a jealous husband's gunfire. That's the opening scene, hinting horribly that this deeply amusing novel is going to veer off into sober melodrama before it ends. But it doesn't — it stays right on track for a soap-operatic climax. And Lily is surrounded by plum roles for actors. Her boss, hospitalized top comedy writer Harry Green, lies dying of cancer but still flowing with jokes and writing the latest episode of a schlocky sitcom. When Harry dies, he's replaced by Charlie Roth, the God of Jokes to all comedy writers. Sometimes referred to as Quasimodo, Charlie is a physical mess, with a head forever bobbing, a gait so rolling and twisted he can barely climb steps — and a face that's no pleasure to look at, either. When the comedy team gets to work on a new sitcom episode and Lily complains about their cigar smoke, Charlie hangs her by her ankles out the fourth-floor window. Yes, he's stolen this trick from Sid Caesar and Mel Brooks, but even so it doesn't endear him to Lily. Thus when Charlie, with humor and tricks, begins helping fellow cripple Bryan recover his will to live, Lily, now engaged to a blandly handsome cardiologist, is slow to respond. As for the climax, it will go down in pop history when it's filmed. . .

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING