BETWEEN THE LINES: FICTIONAL DIARY SHEDS REAL INSIGHT ON WOMEN'S LIVES IN 1990s

I checked out a new book from the library over the weekend and found myself barely able to put it down.

It's not so much that the book's plot is so intriguing, but that its character shares every last detail of her life. "Briget Jones' Diary" by Helen Fielding is an inside look at a woman's life during the course of one year.

The concept is rather simple, but scary. An unmarried, career-oriented woman living in London shares details of her life in a diary.

The book is actually the result of a series of newspaper columns. I think that's what I find so intriguing about the story.

As a columnist, I find it difficult to share every last detail of my life with readers. Sure, there are some things -- like my opinions -- that I willingly share, but those things aren't quite as intimate as a struggle to achieve the perfect weight or a quest to find the perfect man (which I'm beginning to doubt actually exists anywhere in the universe).

I am a little more reserved than Briget. And I'm a little more leery of sharing the details of my life, mostly because I'm afraid of the reaction readers would have.

First of all, I don't think my life is always interesting. Although the past few days have been something like the script of a daytime soap opera, my daily comings and goings aren't always so dramatic. (And I'm not sure I'd ever want them to be.)

I don't think most of the Southeast Missourian's readers would care about my struggle to pay bills, redecorate my house or find an outfit that doesn't make me look too fat. People probably don't care because they have similar, if not worse, problems of their own to handle.

Unlike the mundane trappings of my life, every day is an adventure with Briget. She starts a new job, gets dumped by a man she once loved and tries to figure out how to handle her parents' impending break-up.

So far I'm slightly more than halfway through the book and can't wait to find out how Briget's year ends.

At the same time, I'm scared to finish the book because it might not end happily. And I'm a big believer in the optimistic, "happily ever after" fairy tale theory.

I think Briget represents a lot of women in the 1990s. We all struggle with our careers, relationships and other commitments while trying to remain beautiful and alluring in hopes of finding a lifelong mate.

It's not an easy task and "happily ever after" is getting harder and harder to find. Briget shows us that life can be survived, at the very least. It might not always be thrilling and fun, but at least it's a page-turner and a story worth finishing.

~Laura Johnston is a copy editor for the Southeast Missourian.