After gaining baby weight--and losing her husband--Abigail's devotion to a weight-loss book causes her to discover her secret love of the culinary tradition.

When is a family no longer a family? Gayle Fortman has built a good life for herself and her three sons in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Divorced from charismatic broadcast journalist Eric Fortman, Gayle has made a success of her bed-and-breakfast. She has even maintained a cordial relationship with Eric--for whom family was never a priority, even when they were still married. Luckily, her closest neighbor has been a loving surrogate father to...

Hilary is left by husband Eric for Pamela, and also left to raise their son, Seth. When Eric and Pam return for Seth's high school graduation with their own children in tow, the tension between Pam and Hilary is disconcertingly obvious. Bad gets worse when an unsanctioned graduation campout goes terribly wrong, and the adults are forced to get along in order to cope and respond.

Patricia Page, whose stories generate enthusiastic praise when they appear in the New Yorker, brings back the heady days of the late 1960s in a touching journey of the heart. Hope's Cadillac is filled with the small, vivid details of this freewheeling decade, and Hope, its often-disheveled hero, is sure to capture your heart. Hope Fairman-wife, mother, indifferent housekeeper-watches her world disintegrate as her successful husband divorces her and...

Kindergarten teacher and single mom Marjette Lewis faces a challenging school year when her teacher-best-friend Judy retires and an unexpected child shows up on the first day of school. When tragedy strikes Marjette's neighborhood, she must find a way through the loss and discover how to remake her life.

"With her divorce settlement about to run out and a mortgage she can't afford, Robyn Caldwell needs a plan. But how's she supposed to think when her daughter has become the most demanding bride ever, her son won't even consider college, her best friend is on the brink of marital disaster and her ex is making a bad decision that could bring everything crashing down on Robyn's head? When her great-aunt Lillian invites her to Santa Barbara for the summer,...

"When her chronically unemployed husband runs off to start a crocodile farm in Kenya with his mistress, Joséphine Cortès is left in an unhappy state of affairs. The mother of two--confident, beautiful teenage Hortense and shy, babyish Zoé--is forced to maintain a stable family life while making ends meet on her meager salary as a medieval history scholar. Meanwhile, Joséphine's charismatic sister Iris seems to have it all--a wealthy husband, gorgeous...