First published 1993
Sandra clutches her ex-husband's credit card, knowing the best revenge comes with compound interest. She joins ten other Southern women navigating the complexities of contemporary life. Ruthie owns a motel that progress left behind when the new highway carved a different path. Anna, recently widowed, haunts airport terminals to glimpse fragments of strangers' stories. Bunny waits by her mailbox for postcards from her wandering sister, treating each arrival like a manual for living. These women find themselves trapped in life's slower lanes while the world speeds past. They rev their engines against circumstance, hoping for better days but startled when fortune actually smiles. McCorkle captures their struggles with wit and clear-eyed compassion. Each woman faces the gap between dreams and reality, between the lives they imagined and the ones they inhabit. Their stories reveal how love complicates everything, how survival requires creativity, and how small victories can surprise even the most resigned hearts.
Genres: fiction, family-life, contemporary
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, slice-of-life
Setting: South, Southern
Period: Contemporary
211 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Fawcett