A private state

Here is a collection of stories about women who have arrived at awkward edges in their lives. Some are adolescents, some at the brink of old age, and some find themselves suddenly ill or pregnant. Others come to the abrupt discovery that their marriages are not as whole as they had believed, while a few tumble onto startling secrets. But despite their range in age and situation, they all try to use their new knowledge to stitch together a fresh pattern by which to live. While most of the action unfolds along the East Coast - in Maryland, Maine, Boston, Philadelphia, New York - several of the women travel to Arizona, California, and Jamaica. Often the light is too bright in these glittery places and they wonder why they have come. Many seem to be searching for a sense of home, which one girl describes as a place that is "complete and full of longing all at once."

First sentence: IT IS THE FIRST MONDAY OF FEBRUARY AND MARY ELLEN IS teaching George Herbert to her smartest juniors.

Year

1997

Language

English

Publisher

University of Massachusetts Press

Editions

1

Pages

179

ISBN

9781558491144

Data source: Wikidata