First published 2013
Will and Weezy Coffey believed they had raised their three children to handle adult life. Their refrigerator displays a running list titled "THINGS WE NEED" in careful capitals and underlines. But their grown kids keep returning home when life falls apart. Claire calls off her engagement and hides from mounting debts. Martha faces a career meltdown so severe that even her patient therapist grows frustrated. Max, still in college, tangles himself in romantic disaster. Each sibling discovers that their parents' careful preparation cannot shield them from the chaos of being an adult. The Coffey house becomes a refuge where grown children retreat to lick their wounds. Close captures the gap between what families hope to provide and what life actually demands. Her story examines how modern adults stumble through relationships, money troubles, and career confusion while their parents watch helplessly from the sidelines. This is a story about the safety net of family when everything else fails.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, safety-net
Period: 21st-century
352 pages · Hardcover · Chatto & Windus