First published 2026
Polly Goodman teaches English at a private school and shares everything with her book club friends. They know about her difficult mother, her fertility struggles, her daily life with her veterinarian husband. When the women give her an ancestry DNA kit as a gag gift, Polly expects nothing more than harmless entertainment. Instead, the results connect her to a complete stranger. The match appears to be an error, but Polly cannot stop digging into her family's past for explanations. She searches through old records and memories, questioning stories she has always accepted as truth. Meanwhile, her tight circle of four friends faces the possibility of losing one member. As Polly navigates these twin upheavals, she discovers how friendships reshape us in unexpected ways. The book club that once felt like solid ground becomes something more complex. Quindlen writes about the messy reality of middle-aged life with characteristic warmth and humor, exploring how we rebuild our sense of self when the foundations shift.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, family-life, contemporary
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, second-chance
256 pages · Hardcover · Random House
Content warnings: infertility