Family life fiction / Stories about family

Book SynopsisA ?propulsive and moving story of a family torn asunder by their mother?s disappearance? (Bookreporter) from the New York Times bestselling author of The Last Story of Mina Lee. 1999: At the end of the millennium, the Kim family is struggling to move on after their mother, Sunny, vanished a year ago. Sixty-one-year-old John Kim feels more isolated from his grown children than ever before. One evening, their fragile lives are further upended when John finds the body of an unhoused stranger in the backyard with a letter to Sunny, leaving the family with more questions than ever. 1977: Newly married, Sunny is pregnant and has just moved to Los Angeles from Korea with her hardworking and often-absent husband. America is not turning out the way she had dreamed it to be, and the loneliness and isolation are broken only by a fateful encounter with a veteran at a bus stop. The unexpected connection spans decades and echoes into the family?s lives in the present as they uncover devastating secrets that put not only everything they thought they knew about their mother but their very lives at risk. Both ?an intricately crafted mystery and a heart-wrenching family saga? (Michelle Min Sterling, New York Times bestselling author), set against the backdrop of social unrest and Y2K, What We Kept to Ourselves masterfully explores memory, storytelling, forgiveness, and what it means to dream in America.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA beautifully packaged 30th anniversary edition of #1 New York Times bestselling author Richard Paul Evans?s classic tale of faith, hope, and Christmas miracles.Thirty years ago, Richard Paul Evans wrote a small Christmas tale for his two young daughters?an expression of love celebrating the joy of fatherhood and the beauty of childhood. Evans printed a couple dozen copies of his book and shared it with family and friends, which they began sharing with their loved ones. As demand for his book grew, Evans printed up copies of his sweet tale and began selling them at local stores in Salt Lake City. Within a few years, what began as a private expression of love for his two young daughters evolved into a beloved gift whose popularity quickly spread throughout the world. Soon, his masterpiece became a global phenomenon, becoming one of the most bestselling books of the century. Now, this special anniversary edition brings this heartwarming novel to a new generation. The moving and unforgettable story of a widow and the young family who come to live with her is a modern classic you?ll want to share with all your loved ones from the ?king of Christmas fiction? (The New York Times).

Read more less

Book SynopsisAn “engrossing debut” (Laura Dave, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Thing He Told Me) novel about a couple whose baby dreams of adoption push them to do the unthinkable when their baby’s birth family steps into the picture.How far would you go to save your family? As soon as Gail and John Durbin bring home their adopted baby Maya, she becomes the glue that mends their fractured marriage. But the Durbin’s social worker, Paige, can’t find the teenage birth mother to sign the consent forms. By law, Carli has seventy-two hours to change her mind. Without her signature, the adoption will unravel. Carli is desperate to pursue her dreams, so giving her baby a life with the Durbins’ seems like the right choice—until her own mother throws down an ultimatum. Soon Carli realizes how few choices she has. As the hours tick by, Paige knows that the Durbins’ marriage won’t survive the loss of Maya, but everyone’s life is shattered when they—and baby Maya—disappear without a trace. Filled with heartrending turns, Other People’s Children is a “heartbreakingly dark, suspenseful exploration of the boundaries two women push to have a child” (Cara Wall, bestselling author of The Dearly Beloved) that you’ll find impossible to put down.

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Weiner comes a warmhearted and empowering new novel about love, family, friendship, secrets, and a life-changing journey.Thirty-three-year-old Abby Stern has made it to a happy place. True, she still has gig jobs instead of a career, and the apartment where she’s lived since college still looks like she’s just moved in. But she’s got good friends, her bike, and her bicycling club in Philadelphia. She’s at peace with her plus-size body—at least, most of the time—and she’s on track to marry Mark Medoff, her childhood sweetheart, a man she met at the weight-loss camp that her perpetually dieting mother forced her to attend. Fifteen years after her final summer at Camp Golden Hills, when Abby reconnects with a half-his-size Mark, it feels like the happy ending she’s always wanted. Yet Abby can’t escape the feeling that something isn’t right...or the memories of one thrilling night she spent with a man named Sebastian two years previously. When Abby gets a last-minute invitation to lead a cycling trip from NYC to Niagara Falls, she’s happy to have time away from Mark, a chance to reflect and make up her mind. But things get complicated fast. First, Abby spots a familiar face in the group—Sebastian, the one-night stand she thought she’d never see again. Sebastian is a serial dater who lives a hundred miles away. In spite of their undeniable chemistry, Abby is determined to keep her distance. Then there’s a surprise last-minute addition to the trip: her mother, Eileen, the woman Abby blames for a lifetime of body shaming and insecurities she’s still trying to undo. Over two weeks and more than seven hundred miles, strangers become friends, hidden truths come to light, a teenage girl with a secret unites the riders in unexpected ways...and Abby is forced to reconsider everything she believes about herself, her mother, and the nature of love.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisWHAT IF YOUR DECISION COSTS SOMEONE HIS LIFE? Phillip cannot forgive himself for the years he allowed his father to abuse his younger brother Michael. Almost every childhood memory breaks his heart, especially since he made the abuse worse when he did try to help Michael. It all started with a letter—a single sheet of paper that changed everything. Now Phillip stands in the doorway of a hospital room, helplessly watching Michael struggle to survive a life-threatening accident. Phillip knows his father will never be satisfied until he destroys the son he no longer claims as his own. Phillip knows he must somehow defend Michael, even if he must take the life of his own father. “Song of the Tree Frogs is packed full of astonishing events that springs from the turmoil of human tragedy. This story will grip your heart and take you on a journey of hope, healing, and forgiveness. We learn that God’s love is strongest when our own strength is at its weakest.” Shannen Fields, award-winning actress and producer from Facing the Giants and Order of Rights

Read more less

Book SynopsisProfessional money manager, Jim Peters, a committed husband and father of three, is experiencing a critical crisis of confidence, and his typical optimism and resiliency is crumbling. He believes his family’s well-being and his dreams are in jeopardy as he is being pushed out of his job by unscrupulous competition and younger, tech-savvy workers. On the brink of making costly decisions, Jim is sensing that he’s losing his grip on everything that is important to him, including his legacy. He is battered by the institutional influences over his life. Jim, however, is about to discover an old way of living that will create a new way of thinking and it will come from a most unusual place. Through a series of recently discovered old letters, Jim travels through time. Along his journey, he is given the gifts of perspective, new life, and a renewed spirit. He learns the time-tested secrets to create good health, true wealth, and genuine wisdom, re-takes control of his life, and helps lead and transform the lives of his family, friends, colleagues, and community. Legacy Letters is a modern parable of one man’s choices and teaches readers the acquired virtues that create a new life for him.

Read more less

Book SynopsisFamily, Food, and Fortitude. With the unexpected news of her pregnancy, Molly’s suddenly responsible husband Corey persuades her to leave her job as a sous chef in a bustling Washington DC restaurant, and move to an old fashioned, run down house in small town Pennsylvania. Stuck with a colicky newborn and a husband who loves the creaky steps, old décor, and even the broken tiles in the kitchen, Molly finds herself trapped in a life that only Corey wants—but is too busy working to enjoy. A century earlier, the same house was home to adventurous Tish, the middle daughter of the Hess family, who yearns to leave the family delicatessen behind to travel west and paint sweeping mountain landscapes. When Tish meets Ellis, a wanderer from California, their romance carries them through World War I, but cannot survive his return to civilian life and a train crash that claims the life of many aboard. Tied by tragedy to the delicatessen, Tish must forfeit everything for her family. After so much sacrifice, how can two women living a hundred years apart find happiness in the present, while living a life they would never choose for themselves?

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Four Gifts of the King is a story of salvation and hope told through an adventure that stirs the imagination and speaks to the soul. When Sam Roberts learns he is dying, he is faced with a decision that will determine his legacy and alter forever the destinies of his four adult children. With his lifelong friend Walter at his side, Sam writes his last words to his children. His legacy would come not through money or power, but through a parable. Sam takes his children and readers alike on the breathtaking adventure of Steward of Aiden Glenn and his quest to find the King and learn the purpose for his life. The Four Gifts of the King is a saga of truth and deception, of trust and love, of courage and victory, and of faith. At its heart is the importance of family and coming home to the values that shape adults from children. It calls readers to consider their own legacy. It’s a parable that changed the lives of Sam’s children forever, as it changes the lives of all who read it.

Read more less

Book Synopsis"A wealth of keen insight and just the right touch of delightful humor." —Sigrid Nunez, author of The FriendA kaleidoscopic story, unspooling over the twenty-four hours of a very contemporary woman’s sixtieth birthday.Nine years have passed since Ana Koehl had sex with her pot-addicted anesthesiologist husband, seven since she began an affair with a gonzo journalist. She’s gratified by her work as a book doula, but burdened by her belief that she need always be on call. Her elderly mother’s birthday greeting is an inflation-adjusted calculation of the cost of raising Ana in a mice-infested house, her brother has hijacked the will of their recently deceased starchitect father, her adult child is changing rapidly before her eyes, and her best friend advocates for “the truth in lies.” Gazing out at the dark moat of Central Park from behind her desk, Ana sees that she can no longer postpone making peace with her past or confronting her present.Narrated by Ana and the key figures in her life—her husband, her brother, her lover’s wife, to name a few—Ana Turns spirals through issues from capital punishment to the dynamiting of the Bamiyan Buddhas, culminating in a watershed dinner party, with Ana’s family members’ true colors on full display. By day’s end, the bounds of her own collaboration and forgiveness illuminated, Ana turns towards a vision of what she wants next in this blink of a life.Trade Review“With each glorious, hilarious page I found myself turning with Ana, one of the most original creations I’ve seen in a while and, to steal from Lermontov, truly A Heroine of Our Time.” —Gary Shteyngart, author of Our Country Friends“I fell in love with Ana, a modern-day Mrs. Dalloway crisscrossing New York City to discover the unexpected truths about her life, lovers and impossible family. An exquisitely written love letter to what it means to be a grown-up woman.” —Helen Simonson, author of Major Pettigrew's Last Stand“This moving portrait of a woman assessing the friendships, romances, and family relationships that have shaped her sixty years contains a wealth of keen insight and just the right touch of delightful humor.” —Sigrid Nunez, author of What Are You Going Through“Lisa Gornick’s Ana Turns is a beautifully written and propulsive novel of desire and longing, regret and forgiveness. Ana is my favorite kind of character—deeply perceptive, surprisingly funny, and smart as hell. I loved this novel.” —Angie Kim, author of Miracle Creek“It’s a great feat to capture a whole life through the lens of a single day. Lisa Gornick’s Ana Turns does this beautifully in a series of vivid encounters with both the present and the past on the momentous occasion of her sixtieth birthday. It’s exciting to watch Ana risk revealing her true feelings and to ultimately discover what she wants and deserves. But this isn’t only an internal story. The novel sweeps through history and travels all over the world to show the influences Ana is bringing with her into each moment, alone or with others. Ana Turns is a powerful story of a woman coming into her own.” —Alice Elliott Dark, author of Fellowship Point

Read more less

Book SynopsisFrom the acclaimed author of Washing the Dead and Bertrand Court comes a satirical and chilling, yet deeply-sensitive, tale that captures the ethos and ruin of children’s competitive swimming, where parents must face the haunting spirits of their own tumultuous upbringings or risk losing their way and—in turn—themselves.It’s June 2012. The magical and slightly cultish River Run swim club is alive with the spirit of fun competition when a perfect storm brews between team moms and best friends, Gillian Cloud and Kristy Weinstein. The ghost of family addiction has turned up, looming over their carefully planned pasta parties, tie-dye nights, and pep rallies, forcing them to face their unresolved childhood trauma.Gillian responds by trying to control everyone around her, while Kristy relapses into her dangerous addiction to love. Real sparks fly on the night of the derecho—a freak land hurricane—which sweeps through Northern Virginia, knocking out power for days. The storm ignites a tinder box of secrets, leaving Gillian and Kristy alone in the hot dark—their shame their only company.At times humorous and devastating, Swimming with Ghosts is a hauntingly dark, yet uniquely tender story of the various entrapments of addiction and lingering trauma, and what it takes to overcome our hidden legacies of disgrace and discover a once unimaginable freedom made possible by confronting life’s greatest storms with the people closest to us.Trade Review“I really enjoyed Swimming with Ghosts, for the excellent characters, unusual plot inside the world of local competitive swimming, the fine writing, and the frequent insights and humor. I raced right through it.” —Anne Lamott“Who knows when a perfect life might be ripped out by the roots? It’s summer and as closest friendships go under and family secrets surface, a storm may be coming for Gillian Cloud and her picture-perfect swim club community. Michelle Brafman is such a sharp observer of suburban life and Gillian, and #bestie Kristy, are a deliciously written, female friendship. So compelling, I snuck out of bed at night to finish it. Dive in!” —Helen Simonson, author of Major Pettigrew's Last Stand and The Summer Before the War“Swimming with Ghosts dives into the world of children’s competitive swimming with sharp observations and an abundance of empathy. I was thrilled to spend time at the picture-perfect River Run swim club, caught in the swirl of family secrets and friendship. Moving perfectly between humor and darkness, Michelle Brafman delivers a delicious and compelling book about jealousy, addiction, and legacy.” —Jennifer Close, bestselling author of Girls in White Dresses and Marrying the Ketchups“Swimming with Ghosts is a story about ripple effects and the lies we tell ourselves in our most valiant, human, futile attempts to escape our own histories. This is my favorite kind of novel: a page-turner about love and secrets, honor and betrayal, and all the messiness of families and legacies.” —Lauren Fox, New York Times bestselling author of Send for Me“I devoured Swimming with Ghosts in a single day, tearing through one unputdownable chapter to the next. A perfect book club pick, Brafman writes with loving sensitivity and humor about two close friends, their families, and the secrets that join them together.” —Bethany Ball, author of The Pessimists and What to Do About the Solomons“Beneath the surface of Michelle Brafman’s propulsive Swimming with Ghosts, with its delightful humor and sharp observations of suburban mores, swirl dark undercurrents. Riptides that threaten two families lurk behind the luaus stalwart Gillian Cloud organizes at the community swimming club and her whitewashed Facebook posts. With open eyes and extraordinary compassion, Brafman tackles the shame of love addiction, illuminating its links to other addictions and what true recovery entails.” —Lisa Gornick, author of The Peacock Feast and Louisa Meets Bear“Lurking beneath the seemingly mundane surface of swim clubs and pasta parties and petty squabbles are dark secrets. Best friends who have much to hide, marriages that are not what they seem. In this page-turner of a tale, Michelle Brafman leads the reader into the deeper waters of deception, loss, and self-destructive obsession. This is a story that creeps up on you and then holds fast. It will stay with me for a long time to come.” —Mary Morris, author of The Jazz Palace and Gateway to the Moon“Swimmers and readers rejoice! Michelle Brafman’s Swimming with Ghosts is proof that the most important events in life happen at the pool. Fast-paced and frequently hilarious, we unsuspectingly float on the novel’s wry, quirky humor until we’re suddenly over deep water, gazing into the depths of our need for purpose, friendship, and love. Anyone heading to a pool or beach this summer should have a copy of Swimming with Ghosts in their swim bag.” —David McGlynn, author of A Door in the Ocean“Michelle Brafman deftly peels back the layers of suburbia, revealing an unforgettable summer that’s part Peyton Place, part American Beauty, with a hint of David Lynch. As she knows, competitive youth sports is a world that drives some of the best over the edge. Yet it can also heal so many of us.” —Tim Wendel, author of Escape from Castro’s Club“A gripping family drama, Swimming with Ghosts is as suspenseful as it is sensitively wrought.” —Annie Berke, Washington City Paper “Swimming with Ghosts…offers a summer read that tackles serious issues while also seeking to deliver a highly readable, page-turning story.” —Ellen Braunstein, The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle“This is the book that you can really take to the beach, sit in your chair, and dive all the way in!” —Amy Impellizzeri, WHMT-TV’s “Good Day PA” (Harrisburg)“Brafman’s third novel, Swimming with Ghosts, is a page turner. . .The intensity of their involvement in this competitive and recreational activity turns into a serious exploration of friendship, addiction, and what is truly meaningful in life.” —Martha Anne Toll, Bloom “I loved it so much! Out of this seemingly small world [Brafman] created a story with such heft and consequence; it has an almost epic quality—brava!” —Yona Zeldis McDonough, Lilith“Michelle Brafman’s Swimming with Ghosts explores the inner workings of a Northern Virginia swim club, focusing mostly on a group of team moms and best friends with (depending on how you look at it) too much or not enough time on their hands. It’s also a story about addiction in all its forms. And about ghosts in all their forms. Plus, there are marriages — both strong and strained — to consider. The novel, Brafman’s third, delights in taking its characters and throwing them into the deep end.” —Cathy Alter, Washington Independent Review of Books

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisI Think That Before All Else I Am a Human Being, Just As Much As You AreOr At Least I will Try to Become One. Henrik Ibsen in A Doll's House A Doll's House,the three-act play by Henrik Ibsen, which premiered at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1879, is one of the most well-known and frequently performed of modern plays. It richly displays the genius with which Ibsen pioneered modern, realistic prose drama.The play is significant for the way it deals with the fate of the central character Nora, a married woman, who at that time in Norway lacked opportunities for self-fulfillment in a male-dominated world. Ibsen was inspired by the belief that a woman cannot be herself in modern society, since it is an exclusively male society, with laws made by men and with prosecutors and judges who assess feminine conduct from a masculine standpoint.The play aroused great controversy at the time, as it concludes with Nora leaving her husband and children because she wants to discover herself. The outrage went far beyond the theater to the world of newspapers and society. In Nora, Ibsen epitomized the human struggle against the humiliating constraints of social conformity. Even today many agree that the theme of the play is the need of every individual to be able to find out the kind of person he or she is and to be allowed to become that person.

Read more less

Book SynopsisFirst published in 1899, this compelling novel shocked readers with its honest treatment of female marital infidelity.Audiences accustomed to the pieties of late Victorian romantic fiction were taken aback by Chopin's daring portrayal of twenty-eight-year-old protagonist Edna Pontellier and her struggle to negotiate love and motherhood. She is a woman trapped in a stifling marriage who seeks and finds passionate physical love outside the straitened confines of her domestic situation.This sensuous book tells of the woman's abandonment of her family, her seduction, and her awakening to desires and passions that threatened to consume her. The novel so disturbed critics and the public that it was banished for decades afterward.Aside from its unusually frank treatment of a then-controversial subject, the novel is widely admired today for its literary qualities. It is hailed as a work that is beautifully written, and uninhibited in its treatment of infidelity. Few novels have plumbed the psychology of a woman in search of self-discovery who turns away from conventions and becomes involved in an illicit relationship with the perception, artistry, and honesty that Kate Chopin brought to The Awakening. This powerful and provocative reading experience, rooted firmly in the romantic tradition of Herman Melville and Emily Dickinson has been hailed as an early vision of woman's emancipation. This sensitive, innovative combination of realistic narrative and psychological complexity contributed to the birth of American modernist literature and has been hailed as the catalyst to creating a genre that inspired authors such as William Faulkner and Ernest Hemingway.

Read more less