by Delia Ephron
First published 2000
Eve stands between her two sisters as their family falls apart. Georgia runs a magazine in New York, buried in deadlines and editorial demands. Maddy remains the baby of the family, avoiding adult responsibilities. Eve carries the weight. At forty, she manages a dreamy husband and a rebellious teenager while her sisters depend on her for everything else. Their father Lou Mozell has become impossible. The old man drinks too much, sinks into depression, and thinks only of himself. His behavior forces an emergency hospitalization at a psychiatric facility in Los Angeles. The sisters must decide how to handle Lou's care from across the country. Phone calls become lifelines and battlegrounds. Georgia fires off instructions between meetings. Maddy offers sympathy but little help. Eve makes the hard choices while juggling her own family's needs. The crisis exposes old patterns and fresh wounds. Each sister discovers what she owes the others and what she can no longer give.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: family-drama, found-family
Setting: Los Angeles, New York
Period: 21st-century
331 pages · Paperback · pocket
Content warnings: depression, mental-illness