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Random House
March 2013
On Sale: March 12, 2013
224 pages
ISBN: 0812993217
EAN: 9780812993219
Kindle: B0092EE380
Hardcover / e-Book
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Fiction Family Life
For readers of Jonathan Franzen and Richard Russo, Jonathan Deeβs novels are masterful works of literary fiction. In this sharply observed tale of self-invention and public scandal, Dee raises a trenchant question: what do we really want when we ask for forgiveness?
Once a privileged and loving couple, the Armsteads have now reached a breaking point. Ben, a partner in a prestigious law firm, has become unpredictable at work and withdrawn at homeβa change that weighs heavily on his wife, Helen, and their preteen daughter, Sara. Then, in one afternoon, Benβs recklessness takes an alarming turn, and everything the Armsteads have built together unravels, swiftly and spectacularly.
Thrust back into the working world, Helen finds a job in public relations and relocates with Sara from their home in upstate New York to an apartment in Manhattan. There, Helen discovers she has a rare gift, indispensable in the world of image control: She can convince arrogant men to admit their mistakes, spinning crises into second chances. Yet redemption is more easily granted in her professional life than in her personal one.
As she is confronted with the biggest case of her career, the fallout from her marriage, and Saraβs increasingly distant behavior, Helen must face the limits of accountability and her own capacity for forgiveness.
 Media BuzzFresh Air - NPR - March 27, 2013
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