Good Grief: A Novel

A mother- and daughter-in-law. To move on, one of them will have to move out in a hopeful and hilarious novel about widowhood and family friction by the bestselling author of Don’t Forget to Write .

It’s 1963, two years since Barbara Feldman’s husband died. Raising two kids, she’s finally emerging from her cocoon of grief. Not yet a butterfly, but she’s anxious to spread her wings.

Then one day her mother-in-law, Ruth, shows up on her doorstep with five suitcases, expecting a room of her own with a suitable mattress. Abrasive and stuck in her ways yet well meaning, Mother Ruth arrives without warning to help with the children. How can Barbara say no to a woman who is not only a widow herself but also a grieving mother? As Ruth’s prickly visit turns from days to weeks to what seems like forever, Barbara realizes Ruth has got to go. But Barbara has an ingenious plan: introduce Ruth to some fine gentlemen and marry her off as fast as she can.

Soon enough, something tells Barbara that Ruth is trying to do the same for her . At least they’re finding common ground—helping each other to move forward. Even if it is in the most unpredictable ways two totally different women ever imagined.