The Strength of Us

The house has never been this quiet.Megan Parker's kids are grown and gone. Her husband's busy. Her days are measured in other people's vacation bookings. She's fine - or she was, until a coffee with an old friend turned into a backyard party, then a Friday night tradition, then a circle of women no one planned but everyone needed.Nine women. Nine lives. One unbreakable thread.Megan - the gatherer. An empty-nester who books dream trips for strangers and sits in her car an extra minute before walking into her own quiet house. Sarah - the steady one. She's always early, always watching, and always the first to ask the question no one else will. Hannah - the guarded one. Divorced, returned from out west, carrying something unfinished she isn't ready to name. Dani - the direct one. She walks in steadily, speaks without pretence, and doesn't do small talk unless she means it. Jenna - She arrives without hesitation and reads a room before anyone notices she's in it. Karen - The perceptive one. The quiet one. Careful, grateful, holding more weight than she'll ever say out loud. Brooke - Karen's daughter. Confident, tired, real - and the first one through the gate. Joan - the neighbour. She's been alone longer than she'll admit, watching from the edges, not yet sure she belongs. Laura - the bold one. She steps into every room like she owns the air around her - except at home, where she can barely get a word in.What starts as a Friday night with drinks becomes a lifeline none of them expected. And when Megan suggests they take it somewhere warm - together - every yes carries more weight than a plane ticket.Because the thing about women like these is - they don't just show up once. They stay.The Strength of Us is a warm, emotionally rich novel about the friendships that don't announce themselves - built in kitchens, over too much tequila, between women who weren't looking for anything and found everything.