I FINISHED THIS WONDERFUL BOOK IN FLOODS OF TEARS' JESSIE BURTON'SUCH A PLEASURE' CLARE CHAMBERS'WITTY AND INSIGHTFUL' BONNIE GARMUSAt fifty-seven, Julia Ames finds herself with an improbably lovely life. She has a husband she loves, two happy children and a contented existence in the suburbs. She's unprepared, though, for what comes next: a surprise announcement from her straight-arrow son, a soon-to-be empty nest, and a seductive resurgence of the past - all of which threaten to derail Julia's hard-earned peace.

Wise, witty and deeply moving, this brilliantly observed domestic drama asks what it takes to make - and not to break - a family. 'A FAMILY SAGA TO SAVE AS A TREAT AND DEVOUR WHEN YOU SHOULD BE DOING SOMETHING ELSE' INDEPENDENT'LOMBARDO IS THE NEW ANNE TYLER, WITH TEETH' ERICKA WALLER'A BIG AMERICAN NOVEL TO GET TOTALLY LOST IN' CLAIRE POWELL