Bolstered by her revelation to Paul, Connie takes Claire to the beach to tell her the truth about her Dad. The world has changed utterly since the 19th century but the disconnection between the sexes remains. is a stalwart of book narration (including the Wheel of Time series) and recently hosted the true crime-ish podcast Mother, Neighbor, Russian Spy.

It’s refreshing to read writing smart enough to delve into these troubled waters of either/ors while managing to fish out the universal either/and that our children are what matter most in the end. It's clear there has been huge trauma in Emily's life that it's hard not to be drawn to her as you strain with every sentence to understand her story deeper.Hooper does not shy away from human nature's less attractive qualities but rather engages with them head on, asking ever more demanding questions: what must one sacrifice in a marriage?

This fine and weighty work brings to mind Chopin’s The Awakening and Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler while turning the tables on those as well.But when a life-threatening diagnosis upends her life, she is forced to rethink her life for the good of her thirteen-year-old daughter. As for the weighty themes themselves, I admire the heroine’s recognition of her formidable selfishness amidst her outrage, enabling readers to decide for themselves where the line between selfishness and selflessness should be: “I avoided visiting.