The Next Thing on My List by Jill Smolinski

I picked up "The Next Thing on My List" by Jill Smolinski on a late afternoon trip to the library. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, just grabbing whatever caught my eye. This one was a good pick.

In The Next Thing on My List, June Parker is the driver in a car accident which kills her passenger, Marissa. She discovers that Marissa has written a list "20 things to do by my 25th birthday" - and sets out to complete the list for her. The items on the list range from fun & frivolous (wear sexy shoes, dare to go braless) to serious (change someone's life, make a big donation to charity). June works her way through the list and finds herself on the other side of Marissa's 25th birthday with a new community of friends and a chance to make her own list.

As a habitual list maker, this book really appealed to me. I make daily lits - a work to do, a home to do, shopping, etc. But the summer I was 28, I made one of these lists. I was newly divorced and vacationing, alone, in a cabin on a remote lake in Maine. I was floundering...wondering what exactly was my next step. I was, frankly, bored at work, trying to become a writer, and living back home with my parents and brothers while paying off the mountain of debt we had acquired in my name while I was married. It was, to say the least, not the best time in my life. And so, one very hot afternoon, I pulled out a notebook and made a list of 30 things to do before I turned 30...which gave me just over a year to accomplish all of the items.
I don't recall if I did all 30 or even what they all were), but I got a lot of them done. Like Marissa's list, some were frivolous - I remember listing "Read Breakfast at Tiffany's and watch the movie" and some were serious - "Move out, buy a bed." Each time I accomplished something, I felt good. And I have to say, by the time I turned 30, I was in a much better place than I had been when I made the list.
Now...soon to be 37...I wonder if I should make a list of 40 things to do before I turn 40...and what things I'd put on it if I do...
Anyone else out there ever made a list like this?