by Anne Tyler
First published 1995
Delia Grinstead walks down a Delaware beach in her bathing suit, carrying only a tote bag with five hundred dollars inside. The forty-year-old Baltimore woman keeps walking until she disappears from her family vacation entirely. Her husband and three nearly adult children search for her, finding no trace or explanation. Delia feels like she buzzes around the edges of her own life, invisible and insignificant. Her departure happens on impulse rather than through careful planning. She discovers a completely different existence waiting for her, one she never imagined possible. Tyler follows Delia through her unexpected adventure with precise attention to detail. The story reveals how ordinary people can reinvent themselves when they feel trapped by their circumstances. Delia's journey explores the gap between who we are to our families and who we might become on our own.
Genres: literary-fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Baltimore, Delaware
Period: 20th-century
562 pages · Paperback · Random House Large Print