by Sue Miller
First published 1991
David and Lainey Eberhardt thought they understood their family until their third child, Randall, receives an autism diagnosis. The news shatters their assumptions about parenting and exposes fault lines in their marriage neither saw coming. David, a psychiatrist, struggles with his inability to help his own son, while Lainey bears the daily weight of Randall's care. Their other children watch as tension fills the house. What began as a partnership built on shared dreams becomes a relationship strained by guilt, exhaustion, and different ways of coping with an unexpected reality. As the family adapts to Randall's needs, David and Lainey must decide whether their love can survive the pressure of raising a child whose world operates by different rules. Miller explores how crisis reveals both the fragility and resilience of family bonds.
Genres: family, literary-fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: family-dynamics, unexpected-reality
389 pages · Hardcover · HarperCollins
Content warnings: mental-illness