Good Grief: A Novel

It's 1963, two years after Barbara Feldman's husband died. While raising two children, she is beginning to emerge from her grief and hopes to move forward with her life. Without warning, Barbara's mother-in-law Ruth arrives at her doorstep with five suitcases, expecting a room and a suitable mattress. Though abrasive and set in her ways, Ruth is well-meaning and presents herself as coming to help with the children. Barbara finds it difficult to refuse a woman who is both a widow and a grieving mother. As Ruth's visit extends from days into weeks and beyond, Barbara realizes the arrangement cannot be permanent. She devises a plan: introduce Ruth to eligible men and help her remarry. However, Barbara soon suspects that Ruth has the same idea for her. Despite their differences, the two women begin to find common ground as they help each other move forward, though not always in ways either of them anticipated.