After Everything

Book excerpt: For readers who were swept away by Under the Tuscan Sun, charmed by Le Divorce, and intrigued by The Descendants, here is a “moving, dangerous, shrewd, and un-putdown-able story” (Robert Drewe, author of Our Sunshine) about midlife coming-of-age. They’ve been the best of friends for decades and seen everything—marriage, divorce, success, and bankruptcy. They think that there are no more surprises, that they’ve learned all of life’s lessons. But they’re wrong. They’ve only just begun. Recently divorced and seeking to find herself, Penny moves to a picturesque town in France, happy to live alone—that is until she meets an irresistible American philosophy professor. Meanwhile, handsome bachelor Peter falls head over heels for the first time in his life with curvaceous, sexy, and fiercely independent Frieda; Tim and Angie face challenges in their childless, co-dependent marriage; and Jeremy, twice divorced and the most successful of them all, struggles with a destructive addiction. At the heart of the story is Sandy, Penny’s ex-husband and once an acclaimed songwriter. Realizing perhaps too late that he’s taken his wife and children for granted, he attempts to reconcile with his son and daughter. But before he can make amends with them, Sandy has to confront a secret tragedy that has haunted him, and his relationships, for decades. Wonderfully wise and deeply engaging, After Everything is “an absorbing read” (Kirkus Reviews) about the frailties and joys of friendship and family and the struggle of learning how to live in a changing world.