Description

The Winters family is in turmoil. David Winters, a prominent San Francisco Symphony musician, has suffered a life-changing injury in a car crash.

His wife drops out of a delayed college education to take care of the practical aftermath and her family’s traumatized state of mind. The children–ages fourteen, twelve and a half, and nine–are badly shaken and worry about their father and the future. During the initial days and weeks of chaos, they draw strength from their mother’s ability to stay the course, and also rely on the family’s best friends, the Ashleys, a doctor’s family on the same hill.

After an initial effort by everyone to keep life going as usual, things start unraveling when the central adults face unexpected practical and moral choices. Small missteps and betrayals, the burden of care, and David’s mental condition test everyone’s character. The devastation gathers force over the next year and a half. Inevitably, the lives of everyone in David’s immediate circle of family and friends end up being profoundly changed.

The setting is San Carlos, which in the early 1980s was still a small town on the hilly San Francisco peninsula. Back then, there were no cell phones, answering machines, voicemail, call-waiting, or even email. While this complicated practical matters in many ways, it also left more room for ongoing reflection about motivations and the right way forward.

Author: Grant, Magda V

Topic: Love / Sex / Marriage
Media: Book
ISBN: 997692812
Language: English
Pages: 396