Upside-down and Inside-out
stuck in downward dogCalgary, canada, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver
(May.09.07)
We’ve been caught in all sorts of positions: On our back, upside-down and even in doggie style. And that’s just during, erm, yoga class. 
So we could certainly relate to Mara Brennan when she got Stuck in Downward Dog. ($17.44)
Here, in Sweetspot columnist Chantel Simmons’s debut novel, we followed the quickly unraveling not-so-perfect life of Toronto-based heroine Mara Brennan.
First, her live-in boyfriend dumps her, then her two BFFs (who are supposed to be 28-year-old adults but start acting junior high) turn snotty and, last but not least, Mara’s favourite yoga studio turns into a surfing-based workout facility. If only her job as a receptionist at a B-rate plastic surgery clinic wasn’t so crap-tastic, she could surely handle it all. (But then that would be an after school special, not relatable chick lit!)
Finding refuge in cupcakes, a hidden-gem-of-a-friend and yoga (and not necessarily in that order) Mara devises the OM list, her personal pathway to perfection. And while it manages to place her right-side-up, she’s facing a totally new direction.
On par with what real women go through, Stuck in Downward Dog is a been-there, done-that fantastic read that leaves us rooting for Mara and wishing water weight on pretty much everyone else. We laughed, we cried and we even held plank position for 30 seconds longer than normal to show our support.
Stuck in Downward Dog by Chantel Simmons
Available for purchase at:
Chapters Indigo
Amazon