Her heroine is 40ish, a mother and grandmother, a long-time widow, just buried her own mother, and has a reputation for insanity (due to a couple decades of clinical depression caused by horrible life events and a curse). She goes on a pilgrimage to get away from all the well-meaning people who want her to be cared for and locked in a safe tower, and finds Adventure! Spirtuality! Skills! Also, sex. It is awesome and one of my favorites, and includes a romance that feels real but is not the main focus.
Other stories: I wish I could remember the one short story I read, that had a female warrior hiking through a storm with her newborn tucked in her cloak, trying to figure out how to get rid of the kid without killing it, because she didn't have the resources to support herself as a sell-sword and raise a kid at the same time. She hadn't named it yet because wasn't going to keep it. (Then, you know, there was a cult and a thief and a demon and some problems, and by the end she was all "screw it, I'm keeping and naming the kid" but was still a sword-wielding badass.) It was one of the Friesner "Chicks in Chainmail" series, although God(dess) knows which one. :>
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Have you read "Paladin of Souls" by Lois McMasters Bujold?
http://www.amazon.com/Paladin-Souls-Chalion-McMaster-Bujold/dp/0380818612
Her heroine is 40ish, a mother and grandmother, a long-time widow, just buried her own mother, and has a reputation for insanity (due to a couple decades of clinical depression caused by horrible life events and a curse). She goes on a pilgrimage to get away from all the well-meaning people who want her to be cared for and locked in a safe tower, and finds Adventure! Spirtuality! Skills! Also, sex. It is awesome and one of my favorites, and includes a romance that feels real but is not the main focus.
Other stories:
I wish I could remember the one short story I read, that had a female warrior hiking through a storm with her newborn tucked in her cloak, trying to figure out how to get rid of the kid without killing it, because she didn't have the resources to support herself as a sell-sword and raise a kid at the same time. She hadn't named it yet because wasn't going to keep it. (Then, you know, there was a cult and a thief and a demon and some problems, and by the end she was all "screw it, I'm keeping and naming the kid" but was still a sword-wielding badass.) It was one of the Friesner "Chicks in Chainmail" series, although God(dess) knows which one. :>