First published 2011
Anita Erickson wants nothing more than to settle down and raise children in her Iowa hometown. At her 1973 wedding, her family celebrates while tensions simmer beneath the surface. Her brother Ryan watches from the sidelines, restless and planning his escape from small town life. Their war damaged cousin Chip shows Ryan both the freedom and dangers that wait beyond Grenada. Youngest daughter Torrie also dreams of leaving, but her choices will bring tragedy that transforms the entire family. The Ericksons scatter from Iowa farmland to suburban Chicago to the Italian coast as decades pass. They live through Vietnam's aftermath, the farm crisis, and economic upheavals that reshape America. Ryan, Torrie, and their siblings face prosperity and heartbreak while searching for their place in a rapidly changing country. Thompson follows each family member as they pursue happiness and confront the costs of their decisions across thirty years of American life.
Genres: family-life, american-fiction, 20th-century, american, 21st-century, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, generational-saga
Setting: Iowa, Chicago, Italy
Period: 1970s, 1980s, 1990s
325 pages · Hardcover · Simon & Schuster