Dormida: 372

Every mother inhabits two families at once: the one she was born into and the one she has created. At the age of ten, Margaret spends the summer in an affluent New Jersey suburb; family life seems to unfold placidly, though it requires her to strike a delicate balance between a strict mother and a father and brother who embody forms of masculinity that are as commonplace as they are uncomfortable. Then, at summer's end, everything changes, and the simple pleasures of her childhood vanish. Twenty-five years later, Margaret returns to her parents' home to celebrate her daughter's birthday. Newly divorced, she attempts to maintain a cordial relationship with her ex-husband while rediscovering desire with a new lover. Yet a part of her remains anchored in that childhood moment, forcing her to confront the echoes and reflections of the past that she recognizes in the present. In this acclaimed debut novel, Honor Jones illuminates the invisible cracks within seemingly happy families and reveals, with uncanny delicacy, the price of secrets and the weight of affection.