A deeply felt first novel of family, choices, and coming to terms with the past. On a stifling Christmas Eve in 1967 the lives of the McDonald children-Deborah, Robert, James, and Meredith-changed forever. Their mother, Rosemarie, told them she was running out to buy some lights for the tree. She never came back. The children were left with their father, and a gnawing question: why had their mother abandoned them? Over the years, the four siblings have become practiced in concealing their pain, remaining close into adulthood, and forming their own families. But long-closed wounds are reopened when a chance encounter brings James face-to-face with Rosemarie after nearly forty years. Secrets that each sibling has locked away come to light as they struggle to come to terms with their mother's reappearance, while at the same time their beloved father is progressing into dementia. Veitch's family portrait reveals the joys and sorrows, the complexity and ambiguity of family life, and poignantly probes what it means to love and what it means to leave.

Available on its own for the first time: a second-chance romance from the #1 bestselling author of the Virgin River books—now a Netflix original series. Leigh Brackon is back home to look after her “ailing” mother. But she suspects maternal meddling when she finds her old flame John McElroy knee-deep in landscaping in her mom’s backyard. Leigh and John’s summer affair five years ago ended badly, and they’re both leery of relationships after their own failed marriages. But John has always been drawn to Leigh, even though the handyman doubts he’s good enough for the brilliant scientist and her twin boys. And Leigh has a secret that could change everything. Could they possibly have a real chance this time around? With a little help from the neighborhood matchmakers, they might see that it isn’t too late to find a way forward together. Originally published May 2001 in the Silhouette anthology To Mother with Love and November 2014 in the MIRA anthology ‘Tis the Season. Praise for Robyn Carr and her novels “For great storytelling and beautifully drawn characters, enter the world of Robyn Carr.” —Susan Elizabeth Phillips, New York Times–bestselling author “The Virgin River books are so compelling—I connected instantly with the characters and just wanted more and more and more.” —Debbie Macomber, #1 New York Times–bestselling author “No one can do small-town life like Carr.” —RT Book Reviews

Rosemarie leaned her weight on the big kitchen knife w ith blind efficiency. No one wanted to know the real secrets , not the really big ones. And, she thought emphatically, I don't want anyone to know mine! On Christmas Eve in 1967, a London woman unhappily transplanted to the Austral ian suburbs makes a decision that will change forever the lives of her four young children. Forty years on, those children are adept at concealing their shared pain. Deborah has a demanding political career, James is a successful artist, Robert a respected school principal. Only Meredith, the baby of the family seems struck. But as their father begins to lose his grip on reality, they find themselves floundering i n an unfamiliar sea. And their past is about to reach into t he present in ways that will shock and challenge them all . . . A spellbinding contemporary novel, Listen draws us deep into the intensely private world of family life and brilliantly illuminates the joys, sorrows and sustaining comfort that we find there.

Charles Albert Murdock (1841-1928) left Massachusetts for California in 1855 with his mother, sister and brother. For many years he was editor of the Pacific Unitarian Magazine and one of the state's most distinguished printers. A backward glance at eighty (1921) begins with Murdock's memories of his trip west and reunion with his father, who had settled in Arcata on the Humboldt River. Murdock recalls life in the town and recounts stories of his father's early years on the Humboldt, the evolution of the region's Republican Party, acquaintance with Bret Harte, the printing business in San Francisco, 1867-1910, and the San Francisco Board of Education.

A deeply felt first novel of family, choices, and coming to terms with the past. On a stifling Christmas Eve in 1967 the lives of the McDonald children-Deborah, Robert, James, and Meredith-changed forever. Their mother, Rosemarie, told them she was running out to buy some lights for the tree. She never came back. The children were left with their father, and a gnawing question: why had their mother abandoned them? Over the years, the four siblings have become practiced in concealing their pain, remaining close into adulthood, and forming their own families. But long-closed wounds are reopened when a chance encounter brings James face-to-face with Rosemarie after nearly forty years. Secrets that each sibling has locked away come to light as they struggle to come to terms with their mother's reappearance, while at the same time their beloved father is progressing into dementia. Veitch's family portrait reveals the joys and sorrows, the complexity and ambiguity of family life, and poignantly probes what it means to love and what it means to leave.

Focusing upon gay street life in London and New York, Mark Turner presents this gay urban history of male street cruising.

Edith Wharton, the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize, vividly reflects on her public and private life in this stunning memoir. With richness and delicacy, it describes the sophisticated New York society in which Wharton spent her youth, and chronicles her travels throughout Europe and her literary success as an adult. Beautifully depicted are her friendships with many of the most celebrated artists and writers of her day, including her close friend Henry James.