First published 1998
Hedy Gallagher Castle has always avoided taking sides. She balances everyone else's needs while her own life fractures around her. Her teenage daughter pulls toward independence. Her father struggles with confusion after his stroke. Her husband abandons their marriage to chase his faded dreams of athletic success. The 1991 Gulf War dominates the news as Hedy coaches girls' basketball in her small California town. Political battles over abortion, gay rights, and religious fundamentalism invade her community. The war lasts one hundred days, matching the length of the basketball season. External pressures force Hedy to examine her habit of straddling every fence. She can no longer remain neutral when her private world collides with public turmoil. For the first time, Hedy must choose her own position instead of mediating between others. She discovers what it means to stand for something rather than simply keeping peace.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: California
Period: 1991, Gulf War
284 pages · Paperback · University of California Press