First published 2014
Gail Caldwell thought she knew her story until midlife threw her off course. The Pulitzer Prize winner and bestselling author faced a winter of pain and disrepair that forced her to question the narrative she had built about herself. Small changes accumulated like moss on stone until they transformed her understanding completely. Surrounded by what she calls a force field of connection from friends and loved ones, Caldwell discovered she was not as solo as she believed. She learned that the story can always turn out different from what you expect. This memoir captures how life can begin again at any age, how second chances hide amid the debris even when you think you're heading downhill. Caldwell writes about hope and its absence, about the surprising ways we keep going when everything shifts beneath our feet. Her story shows that coming of age happens repeatedly throughout our lives, and that even dramatic turning points can open unexpected worlds of understanding and possibility.
Genres: autobiography, contemporary, memoir, biography-memoir
Vibes: emotional-atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, second-chance
176 pages · Hardcover · Random House