That Summer: A Novel

Daisy Shoemaker has a successful cooking business, an active volunteer schedule, and a comfortable home in the Philadelphia suburbs, yet she struggles with insomnia and a sense of dissatisfaction. She has many acquaintances but no close friends, and feels disconnected from her distant husband and challenging teenage daughter. Daisy begins receiving misdirected emails intended for Diana Starling, whose email address differs by only one punctuation mark. While Daisy manages carpools and household duties, Diana leads a glamorous life chairing corporate meetings and reorganizing businesses. When an apology leads to an invitation, the two women meet and form a friendship. However, as their connection deepens, it becomes clear their meeting was not entirely accidental. Moving between Philadelphia's Main Line and the Outer Cape landscape, the novel explores what Diana wants from Daisy, the secrets both women carry, and the bonds of friendship. It examines themes of surviving the past, confronting the future, and the complexities of female relationships.