First published 2011
Emily Aulenbach sits in her Manhattan cubicle, defending bottled water companies against contamination claims. At thirty-two, this corporate lawyer finds herself trapped in work she never wanted. She once hoped to fight for victims of corporate abuse. Instead she fights against them. Her marriage to fellow lawyer James has grown cold and distant. Her connections to family and friends feel hollow. Only her computer, BlackBerry, and watch seem real to her anymore. One afternoon Emily makes an impulsive choice. She leaves work early, packs a bag, and drives north toward New Hampshire. She heads for a small mountain town where she spent a transformative summer during college. Returning to this place means confronting painful memories. But Emily knows she must go back to this beginning if she wants to rebuild her life and rediscover who she really is.
Genres: fiction, contemporary, contemporary-romance, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, second-chance
Setting: Manhattan, New Hampshire
Period: 21st-century
320 pages · Hardcover · Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group