Perfect wives, imperfect lives, and upending the rules of behavior in 1960s America.
Law school graduate and newlywed Ruth Appelbaum is acclimating to life and marriage in a posh Philadelphia neighborhood. She’ll do almost anything to endear herself to her mother-in-law, who’s already signed up Ruth for etiquette lessons conducted by the impeccably accessorized tutor Lillian Diamond. But Ruth brings something fresh to the small circle of housewives—sharp wit, honesty, and an independent streak that won’t be compromised.
Right away Ruth develops a friendship with the shy Carrie Blum. When Carrie divulges a dark and disturbing secret lurking beneath her seemingly perfect life, Ruth invites Lillian and the Diamond Girls of the etiquette school to finally question the status quo.
Together they form an unbreakable bond and stretch well beyond their comfort zones. For once, they’ll challenge what others expect from them, discover what they expect from themselves, and do whatever it takes to protect one of their own—fine manners be damned.
A former beauty queen faces the secrets of her past—for herself and the sake of her family’s future—in a heartfelt novel about fate, choices, and second chances.
Everything seemed possible in the summer of 1951. Back then Betty Stern was an eighteen-year-old knockout working at her grandparents’ lakeside resort. The “Catskills of the Midwest” was the perfect place for Betty to prepare for bigger things. She’d head to college in New York City. Her career as a fashion editor would flourish. But first, she’d enjoy a wondrous last summer at the beach falling deeply in love with an irresistible college boy and competing in the annual Miss South Haven pageant. On the precipice of a well-planned life, Betty’s future was limitless.
Decades later, the choices of that long-ago season still reverberate for Betty, now known as Boop. Especially when her granddaughter comes to her with a dilemma that echoes Boop’s memories of first love, broken hearts, and faraway dreams. It’s time to finally face the past—for the sake of her family and her own happiness. Maybe in reconciling the life she once imagined with the life she’s lived, Boop will discover it’s never too late for a second chance.
Evie and Nicole Glass share a last name. They also share a husband. Well, to be clear, Richard was Evie's ex-husband, so that makes Nicole his second wife. Only now she's his widow; a tragic car accident ended the life of Richard Glass. It also upended the lives of Evie and Nicole, and their children: Evie's 10 year-old twins, Sophie & Sam, and Nicole's 10-month-old baby, Luca. There's no love lost between the ex and the widow. In fact, Evie sees a silver lining in all this heartache - the chance to rid herself of Nicole once and for all. But she wasn't counting on her children's bond with their baby brother, and she wasn't counting on Nicole's desperate need to hang on to the threads of family, no matter how frayed. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and what happens next is living proof of the desperate state of these Glass wives. Evie and Nicole, both emotionally and financially spent by Richard's death, agree to share living expenses - and Evie's house. The arrangement, purely financial in Evie's mind, has its benefits, such as a live-in babysitter. But when Evie suspects that Nicole is determined to rearrange more than her kitchen, she has to decide who she can trust. More than that, she has to decide what makes a family.
