Can grief last for a person's whole life? That is the question that haunts Carrie as she mourns the sudden death of her husband, and the much earlier death of their love. Carrie's overbearing mother, Dana, also silently mourns a painful loss: the disintegration of her relationship with her daughter. At the end point of their two generations, Ruth?Carrie's precocious child on the brink of womanhood?struggles with the loss of her father and the emotional abandonment of her mother. Still, she is eager to discover who she is and what life holds, even if that knowledge draws her away from the people she loves.

Through the stories of three unforgettable women, New York Times bestseller Patricia Gaffney explores the despair and hope, misunderstanding and compassion, anger and love that can divide a family . . . yet ultimately binds it together.

Patricia Gaffney's novels include The Goodbye Summer, Flight Lessons, and The Saving Graces. She and her husband currently live in Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania.