(This is not a stand-alone book - requisite reading before this is The Secret Dreams of Sarah-Jane Quinn)
Pregnant, pressured, and pushed to the limit
Vacations, especially when you're pregnant, are supposed to be relaxing.
When her least favorite brother-in-law and his wife crash Sarah and Gus Haldemann's peaceful vacation, Sarah struggles to find patience. Maggie seeks artistic validation at the expense of her marriage, and Dietrich just wants to understand how and why his wife jumped on board the crazy train.
The unexpected presence of Sarah's parents and sister after nearly six years of silence puts unwelcome pressure on her to garner their approval. In the face of her mother's cold disdain, Sarah finds herself slipping back into submissive behaviors that aggravate and shame her.
Then Gus's ex-lover Gretchen arrives, also without invitation and bringing with her a mother-daughter feud with her firstborn, Luci, amping up the tension to a nearly unbearable level.
Luci is searching for a way to break free of her mother's chaotic life. The only place she feels she truly belonged was with Gus, and she would do anything ? including abandon her sisters to her mother's dubious care ? to reclaim her happy childhood home.
In Luci, Sarah sees shades of herself as a child. As they forge a bond, Luci's relationship with Gretchen further deteriorates and Irene Quinn's disapproval escalates.
As the "perfect storm" descends on her home, Sarah struggles to find grace, forgiveness, and a modicum of tolerance ? as well as a little bit of privacy ? in a house packed to the rafters and teeming with angst.
Autorentext
Sharon Gerlach was in training to be a ninja, but a dismaying lack of physical grace and balance?not to mention the inability to keep her big mouth shut?ended her ninja career before it really began. Now she writes. She doesn't write about ninjas because that's obviously a sore subject. But she writes about other really cool things and figures someone else will cover the ninjas. Life's really not all about ninjas, anyway. Sharon lives on the dry side of the Pacific Northwest with her husband (who must really be fond of her as he hasn't left her yet despite her ninja failings); her kids and grandkids (none of whom possess ninja qualities either); and two cats. Yes, you guessed it?ninja cats!