by Belva Plain
First published 2011
Iris Stern built her life on old-fashioned values while pursuing a successful academic career. She considers herself modern yet holds firm to traditional sensibilities about family and marriage. Now her three adult children test those beliefs with their own troubled choices. Her daughter Laura moves to New York City hoping to save her failing marriage to Robbie, but separation looms as they struggle to protect their young daughter from the fallout. Meanwhile, Iris discovers a family secret that has been hidden for years. The revelation forces her to question everything she thought she knew about her own family. As Laura and Robbie's marriage crumbles, Iris faces an even deeper loss. Time threatens her beloved husband and the solid marriage she has always counted on. Through each crisis, Iris must decide whether her faith in family and love can survive these revelations and separations. She draws strength from the belief that some bonds endure like the heartwood of a tree, surviving whatever storms may come.
Genres: literary-fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: family-drama, secrets
Setting: New York City
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
320 pages · Hardcover · Delacorte Press