A Novel Based on a True Story

Shua sighed deeply. "My father asked me to stay tonight.” I felt my stomach twist."For how long?”The silence in the room was choking me. I knew what he was going to say, but I couldn’t prepare myself for the blunt force of his words."He asked me to stay for good.”

Growing up, Esti knew exactly where life was headed. She was going to marry a Lakewood boy and work hard to keep her family afloat while her husband learned, just like her sisters.But then the script changed.

Enter her husband, Shua—formerly Josh—Kessler. Esti unexpectedly finds herself with a mortgage-free home, a live-in, and an unlimited credit card.

To everyone around her, it seems that Esti hit the jackpot. But when an emergency strikes, Esti discovers that Shua’s ties to his family are a lot stronger than she’d realized. As Esti and Shua struggle to see eye to eye about their priorities and where they belong, it becomes clear that Esti’s life is not so perfect after all.

Can two people with such different outlooks make the right choices for their family…together?

Based on a true story, Outlook is a gripping tale of loyalty, tough choices and, above all, having the courage to start over.

By Tzippy Kestenbaum