Wow. Anna Quindlen has quite a tale here. The main character is a mother of teens, and her approaches to life, both before and after The Event, are valuable lessons for the rest of us. She deals with a staggering amount of sorrow and draws us through her grief and reflections on life in a masterful way, gradually building a beautiful picture of both who she was and who she will be.
Friendship is a big theme in this book. The friendships of her children bring her joy and concern. Her own friendships are discussed at length - how past friendships have evolved to where they stand now, how friends from before The Event deal with the changes in her life, and how new friends are found through change.
Caution: spoiler, this paragraph only: I love the way Quindlen discusses adultery, the depravity of it and the nagging, awful, never-knowing-ness of wondering about the extent of the consequences.
I highly recommend this book.
