Lucy Barton is recovering slowly from what should have been a simple operation. Her mother, to whom she hasnt spoken for many years, comes to see her. Gentle gossip about people from Lucys childhood in Amgash, Illinois, seems to reconnect them, but just below the surface lie the tension and longing that have informed every aspect of Lucys life: her escape from her troubled family, her desire to become a writer, her marriage, her love for her two daughters. Knitting this powerful narrative together is the brilliant storytelling voice of Lucy herself: keenly observant, deeply human, and truly unforgettable.

#1 New York Times Bestseller.