New Releases by Anna Quindlen

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Part of Quindlen’s gift is that you don’t just read about these characters, you inhabit them. . . . Luminous with life, hope and the power of love.”—People (A Book of the Week Pick) “[A] quietly revelatory and gently gleaming gem of a book.”—The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice) Anna Quindlen’s trademark wisdom on family, friendship, and the ties that bind us are at the center of this novel about the power of love to transcend loss and triumph over adversity, by the author of Still Life with Bread Crumbs and One True Thing. When Annie Brown dies suddenly, her husband, her children, and her closest friend are left to find a way forward without the woman who has been the lynchpin of all their lives. Bill is overwhelmed without his beloved wife, and Annemarie wrestles with the bad habits her best friend had helped her overcome. And Ali, the eldest of Annie’s children, has to grow up overnight, to care for her younger brothers and even her father and to puzzle out for herself many of the mysteries of adult life. Over the course of the next year what saves them all is Annie, ever-present in their minds, loving but not sentimental, caring but nobody’s fool, a voice in their heads that is funny and sharp and remarkably clear. The power she has given to those who loved her is the power to go on without her. The lesson they learn is that no one beloved is ever truly gone. Written in Quindlen’s emotionally resonant voice and with her deep and generous understanding of people, After Annie is about hope, and about the unexpected power of adversity to change us in profound and indelible ways.

A chorus of essays from a variety of voices, backgrounds, and experiences, exploring what it means to be human and true to yourself. What does it mean to be yourself? To be born here or somewhere else? To be from one family instead of another? What does it mean to be human? Collected by Lori Carlson-Hijuelos, A Path to the World showcases essays by a vast variety of luminaries—from Gary Soto to Nawal Nasrallah to Ying Ying Yu, from chefs to artists to teens to philosophers to politicians (keep your eyes peeled for a surprise appearance by George Washington)—all of which speak to the common thread of humanity, the desire to be your truest self, and to belong. Contributors include: Lori Marie Carlson-Hijuelos, Joseph Bruchac, Jacinto Jesús Cardona, William Sloane Coffin, Pat Conroy, Mario Cuomo, Timothy Egan, Alan Ehrenhalt, Shadi Feddin, Ralph Fletcher, Valerie Gribben, Alexandre Hollan, Molly Ivins, Geeta Kothari, Jeremy Lee, Yuyi Li, Emily Lisker, Kamaal Majeed, Madge McKeithen, Nawal Nasrallah, Scott Pitoniak, Anna Quindlen, Michael J. Sandel, Raquel Sentíes, David E. Skaggs, Gary Soto, Alexandra Stoddard, KellyNoel Waldorf, George Washington, and Ying Ying Yu.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • In this clarion call to pick up a pen and find yourself from “one of our most astute chroniclers of modern life” (The New York Times Book Review), #1 New York Times bestselling author Anna Quindlen shows us how anyone can write, and why everyone should. What really matters in life? What truly lasts in our hearts and minds? Where can we find community, history, humanity? In this lyrical new book, the answer is clear: through writing. This is a book for what Quindlen calls “civilians,” those who want to use the written word to become more human, more themselves. Write for Your Life argues that there has never been a more important time to stop and record what we are thinking and feeling. Using examples from past, present, and future—from Anne Frank to Toni Morrison, from love letters written after World War II to journal reflections from nurses and doctors today—Write for Your Life vividly illuminates the ways in which writing connects us to ourselves and to those we cherish. Drawing on her personal experiences not just as a writer but as a mother and daughter, Quindlen makes the case that recording our daily lives in writing is essential. When we write we not only look, we see; we not only react but reflect. Writing gives you something to hold onto in a changing world. “To write the present,” Quindlen says, “is to believe in the future.”

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A bighearted book of wisdom, wit, and insight, celebrating the love and joy of being a grandmother, from the Pulitzer Prize–winning columnist and #1 bestselling author “This tender book should be required reading for grandparents everywhere.”—Booklist (starred review) “I am changing his diaper, he is kicking and complaining, his exhausted father has gone to the kitchen for a glass of water, his exhausted mother is prone on the couch. He weighs little more than a large sack of flour and yet he has laid waste to the living room: swaddles on the chair, a nursing pillow on the sofa, a car seat, a stroller. No one cares about order, he is our order, we revolve around him. And as I try to get in the creases of his thighs with a wipe, I look at his, let’s be honest, largely formless face and unfocused eyes and fall in love with him. Look at him and think, well, that’s taken care of, I will do anything for you as long as we both shall live, world without end, amen.” Before blogs even existed, Anna Quindlen became a go-to writer on the joys and challenges of family, motherhood, and modern life, in her nationally syndicated column. Now she’s taking the next step and going full nana in the pages of this lively, beautiful, and moving book about being a grandmother. Quindlen offers thoughtful and telling observations about her new role, no longer mother and decision-maker but secondary character and support to the parents of her grandson. She writes, “Where I once led, I have to learn to follow.” Eventually a close friend provides words to live by: “Did they ask you?” Candid, funny, frank, and illuminating, this is the perfect gift for new parents and grandparents. With the same insights Quindlen brought to motherhood in Living Out Loud and to growing older in Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake, this new nana uses her own experiences to illuminate those of many others.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Captures the angst and anxiety of modern life with . . . astute observations about interactions between the haves and have-nots, and the realities of life among the long-married.”—USA Today A provocative novel that explores what it means to be a mother, a wife, and a woman at a moment of reckoning, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Miller’s Valley and Still Life with Bread Crumbs. Some days Nora Nolan thinks that she and her husband, Charlie, lead a charmed life—except when there’s a crisis at work, a leak in the roof at home, or a problem with their twins at college. And why not? New York City was once Nora’s dream destination, and her clannish dead-end block has become a safe harbor, a tranquil village amid the urban craziness. The owners watch one another’s children grow up. They use the same handyman. They trade gossip and gripes, and they maneuver for the ultimate status symbol: a spot in the block’s small parking lot. Then one morning, Nora returns from her run to discover that a terrible incident has shaken the neighborhood, and the enviable dead-end block turns into a potent symbol of a divided city. The fault lines begin to open: on the block, at Nora’s job, and especially in her marriage. Praise for Alternate Side “[Anna] Quindlen’s quietly precise evaluation of intertwined lives evinces a keen understanding of and appreciation for universal human frailties.”—Booklist (starred review) “Exquisitely rendered . . . [Quindlen] is one of our most astute chroniclers of modern life. . . . [Alternate Side] has an almost documentary feel, a verisimilitude that’s awfully hard to achieve.”—The New York Times Book Review “An exceptional depiction of complex characters—particularly their weaknesses and uncertainties—and the intricacies of close relationships . . . Quindlen’s provocative novel is a New York City drama of fractured marriages and uncomfortable class distinctions.”—Publishers Weekly

Petite fille précoce et curieuse, Mimi mène une enfance protégée dans la ferme familiale. Il y a Bud, son père cultivateur et répare-tout ; Miriam, sa mère infirmière ; ses deux frères, le taiseux Eddie et le caïd séducteur Tommy ; ainsi que Ruth, sa tante qui, pour une raison étrange, ne s''éloigne jamais de la maison. Un monde rassurant, fait d''éclats de rire et de joie, que Mimi pense immuable. Mais nous sommes en 1966 et ces jours sont comptés... La guerre du Vietnam laisse Tommy meurtri, la maladie frappe Bud et le gouvernement veut inonder la vallée pour construire un barrage. Alors qu''elle envisageait de quitter le village pour suivre des études de médecine et retrouver son amour d''enfance, Mimi va devoir faire un terrible choix. Récit magnifique dans lequel l''amour, les drames et les secrets inavouables façonnent le destin d''une famille américaine de la seconde moitié du XXe siècle.

Rebecca hatvanéves, már nem sokat vár az élettől, mígnem... Valamikor híres fényképész volt, de mintha elapadt volna az ihlete, és amúgy is csökken a kereslet a képeire. Ott találja magát, ahol annyian a kortársai közül: a fia még rászorul (mert dolgozik ugyan, de ha pénzre van szüksége, hozzá fordul), a férje viszont elhagyta. Édesanyja öregek otthonában él, és még mindig híres zongoristának hiszi magát... Hogy anyagi gondjait megoldja, bérbe adja drága New York-i lakását, és kiköltözik vidékre. A házat fényképről választotta, és elképedten látja, mennyire rozoga. Meglepetésként éri az élővilág jelenléte is: mosómedve a padláson, kutya az ajtó előtt, csippel ellátott ragadozómadarak a magasles körül. A kisváros kedvesen, de némi gyanakvással fogadja a hírességet, Rebecca meg nem tudja eldönteni, lehet-e élni egyáltalán ilyen messze New Yorktól. De aztán talál új fényképtémát, új ügynököt, lesz új kiállítása... És megismerkedik egy férfival, aki látszólag egyáltalán nem illik hozzá. Hiszen csak egy tetőfedő... Az Amerikában és még számos országban régóta népszerű Anna Quindlen felejthetetlen regényt írt az élet hétköznapi csodáiról - meg az újrakezdésről, amiről annyian álmodozunk. „Egy csésze forró tea ez a regény, selymes és vigasztaló...” (USA Today)

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In a small town on the verge of big change, a young woman unearths deep secrets about her family and unexpected truths about herself—an emotionally powerful novel you will never forget. “Overwhelmingly moving . . . In this novel, where so much is about what vanishes, there is also a deep beating heart, of what also stays.”—The New York Times Book Review For generations the Millers have lived in Miller’s Valley. Mimi Miller tells about her life with intimacy and honesty. As Mimi eavesdrops on her parents and quietly observes the people around her, she discovers more and more about the toxicity of family secrets, the dangers of gossip, the flaws of marriage, the inequalities of friendship and the risks of passion, loyalty, and love. Home, as Mimi begins to realize, can be “a place where it’s just as easy to feel lost as it is to feel content.” Miller’s Valley is a masterly study of family, memory, loss, and, ultimately, discovery, of finding true identity and a new vision of home. As Mimi says, “No one ever leaves the town where they grew up, even if they go.” Miller’s Valley reminds us that the place where you grew up can disappear, and the people in it too, but all will live on in your heart forever.

Roman plein d''élégance, d''optimisme et de charme, l''émouvant portrait d''une femme qui pensait avoir remisé son cœur et son art au placard. Mais dans la campagne américaine, la vie est pleine de surprises, et les passions, souvent imprévisibles. Quitter New York : l''idée n''emballe pas Rebecca Winter, mais la photographe n''a plus le choix. Une carrière au point mort, des parents malades, un fils dont elle assume chaque déboire : Rebecca doit partir à la campagne, essayer de faire des économies en attendant de renouer avec le succès rencontré trente ans plus tôt, avec sa célèbre photo, Nature morte aux miettes de pain. Seule dans ce cottage plus proche de la cabane de jardin que d''une vraie maison, Rebecca panique : un raton laveur dans le grenier, ce toit qui prend l''eau ? Pourra-t-elle jamais survivre en province ? Mais bientôt, la farouche Rebecca se découvre de nouveaux amis : Sarah, la bavarde et sympathique pâtissière ; Jim, le charpentier ornithologue, qu''elle assiste dans ses observations de rapaces. Un homme de quarante ans, très secret, doté d''un magnétisme formidable auquel Rebecca n''est pas insensible. Et au contact de cette nature splendide, l''inspiration ne tarde pas à refaire surface... Et si à soixante ans, Rebecca pouvait encore se faire surprendre par la vie ? Et s''il ne tenait qu''à elle de lever la tête de son objectif, de sortir de cette Nature morte qui la retient prisonnière, d''oser s''ouvrir à nouveau à la vie ?

Rebecca Winter var en av New Yorks mest framragende fotografer. Nå er karrieren på hell, bankkontoen begynner å krympe inn, og hun har sett seg nødt til å forlate luksuslivet på Manhattan. Hun flytter motvillig til et sted midt ute i ødemarken. Der oppdager hun at det finnes mer i livet enn det kameralinsen klarer å fange opp, og at livet har mange ulike sider. En rørende og morsom roman om å finne tilbake til kjærligheten.

Até o fim conta a trajetória de uma mãe que levou adiante uma vida com a qual jamais sonhou, mas que teve coragem suficiente para enfrentá-la. Mary Beth Latham tem uma vida que considera perfeita. Muito dedicada à família, ao lado do marido Glen, construiu um lar feliz e saudável para Ruby, a filha mais velha, e para os gêmeos adolescentes Max e Alex. Mas, quando percebe uma mudança no comportamento de Max, há algum tempo deprimido e mais calado que o normal, Mary dedica toda sua atenção a ele. E é nesse momento que acontecimentos a princípio sem importância anunciam uma tragédia. Porém, ao se dar conta das rachaduras na redoma na qual instalou a família, já é tarde demais, e a sequência disso é a prova de todo amor e determinação de uma mãe e do poder que a esperança tem em nos manter vivos.

“[Quindlen] serves up generous portions of her wise, commonsensical, irresistibly quotable take on life.”—NPR This edition includes an exclusive conversation between Meryl Streep and Anna Quindlen. In this irresistible memoir, Anna Quindlen writes about a woman’s life, from childhood memories to manic motherhood to middle age. Considering—and celebrating—everything from marriage, girlfriends, our mothers, parenting, faith, loss, to all the stuff in our closets, and more, Quindlen says for us here what we may wish we could have said ourselves. As she did in her beloved New York Times columns, and in A Short Guide to a Happy Life, Quindlen uses her past, present, and future to explore what matters most to women at different ages. Quindlen talks about: Marriage: “A safety net of small white lies can be the bedrock of a successful marriage. You wouldn’t believe how cheaply I can do a kitchen renovation.” Girlfriends: “Ask any woman how she makes it through the day, and she may mention her calendar, her to-do lists, her babysitter. But if you push her on how she really makes it through her day, she will mention her girlfriends. ” Our bodies: “I’ve finally recognized my body for what it is: a personality-delivery system, designed expressly to carry my character from place to place, now and in the years to come.” Parenting: “Being a parent is not transactional. We do not get what we give. It is the ultimate pay-it-forward endeavor: We are good parents not so they will be loving enough to stay with us but so they will be strong enough to leave us.” Candid, funny, and moving, Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake is filled with the sharp insights and revealing observations that have long confirmed Quindlen’s status as America’s laureate of real life.

Mary Beth Latham a construit sa vie autour de sa famille. Avec amour, elle veille au bien-être de ses trois adolescents en préservant les rituels de leur vie quotidienne. Quand l’un de ses fils sombre dans une dépression, elle se consacre à lui sans avoir conscience de l’approche imminente d’un acte d’une violence inouïe. La suite de ce drame témoigne du pouvoir de l’amour et de la détermination d’une femme, ainsi que des liens invisibles entre les êtres, porteurs d’espoir et de guérison. À travers l’écriture fascinante de l’auteur, ce livre montre que nous pouvons trouver en nous la force de faire face à nos peurs les plus intimes, à une route que nous n’aurions jamais pensé emprunter, à une vie à laquelle nous n’aurions jamais imaginé être confrontés. Traduit de l’anglais par Catherine Ludet

Why are we so fascinated with Jane Austen’s novels? Why is Austen so universally beloved? The essayists in this volume offer their thoughts on the delightful puzzle of Austen’s popularity. Classic and contemporary writers—novelists, essayists, journalists, scholars, and a filmmaker—discuss the tricks and treasures of Austen’s novels, from her witty dialogue, to the arc and sweep of her story lines, to her prescriptions for life and love. Virginia Woolf examines Austen’s maturation as an artist and speculates on how her writing would have changed had she lived another twenty years, while Anna Quindlen examines the enduring issues of social pressure and gender politics that make Pride and Prejudice as vital today as ever. From Harold Bloom to Martin Amis, Somerset Maugham to Jay McInerney, Eudora Welty to Amy Bloom, each writer reflects on Austen’s place in both the literary canon and our cultural imagination.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A “hypnotically interesting” (The Washington Post Book World) novel from the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Miller’s Valley “[Anna Quindlen] writes passionately . . . painstakingly uncovering all the intensity, suspicion and primitive love that bonds mothers and daughters.”—The Boston Globe Ellen Gulden is enjoying her career as a successful magazine writer in New York City when she learns that her mother, Kate, is dying of cancer. Ellen’s father insists that she quit her job and return home to become a caregiver. A high-powered career woman, Ellen has never felt she had much in common with her mother, a homemaker and the heart of their family. Yet as Ellen begins to spend time with Kate, she discovers many surprising truths, not only about herself, but also about the woman she thought she knew so well. Later, when Ellen is accused of the mercy killing of her mother, she must not only defend her own life but make a difficult choice—either accept responsibility for an act she did not commit or divulge the name of the person she believes committed a painful act of love.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK • “Intimate and illuminating and, as is true of most anything Quindlen writes, well worth the read.”—People “A compelling and suspenseful [novel] that goes straight to the gut.”—St. Louis Post-Dispatch For eighteen years Fran Benedetto kept her secret, hid her bruises. She stayed with Bobby because she wanted her son to have a father, and because, in spite of everything, she loved him. Then one night, when she saw the look on her ten-year-old son’s face, Fran finally made a choice—and ran for both their lives. Now she is starting over in a city far from home, far from Bobby. In this place she uses a name that isn’t hers, watches over her son, and tries to forget. For the woman who now calls herself Beth, every day is a chance to heal, to put together the pieces of her shattered self. And every day she waits for Bobby to catch up to her. Bobby always said he would never let her go, and despite the ingenuity of her escape, Fran Benedetto is certain of one thing: It is only a matter of time.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • Anna Quindlen, hailed by the New York Times as “America’s resident sane person,” offers a collection of “engaging, fresh, [and] funny” (Chicago Tribune) essays about growing up, becoming a parent, spirituality, and more. “The lightning bugs are back. They are small right now, babies really, flying low to the ground as the lawn dissolves from green to black in the dusk. There are constellations of them outside the window; on, off, on, off. At first the little boy cannot see them; then, suddenly, he does. ‘Mommy, it’s magic,’ he say. “This is why I had children; because of the lightning bugs.” The voice is Anna Quindlen’s. But we know the hopes, dreams, fears, and wonder expressed in all her nonfiction, for most of us share them. Quindlen first vaulted to national attention with her “Life in the 30s” columns for The New York Times, and this wonderful collection of her early work shows why this Pulitzer Prize–winning author remains in the spotlight.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From Pulitzer Prize–winning author Anna Quindlen comes “a splendid collection” of short essays that are “eloquent, powerful, compassionate, and droll” (The Cleveland Plain Dealer) “Quindlen writes with rare insight, intelligence, and wit. Most of all she writes from the heart.”—The Buffalo News Thinking out loud is what Pulitzer Prize winner Anna Quindlen does best in this collection of her hugely popular New York Times columns. With her finger on the pulse of modern life, and her heart in a place we all recognize, she writes about the passions, politics, and peculiarities of Americans everywhere: “Some people go nuts when their children learn to pick out the ‘Moonlight Sonata’ on the piano. The day I realized my eldest child could read was one of the happiest days of my life.” “Discussions about the homeless always remind me of a woman who told me that she was damned if her tax dollars were going to pay for birth control for the poor. The question is not whether we will pay. It is what we want to pay for, and what works.” On subjects close to home and far away, Anna Quindlen remains a uniquely clear and incisive voice.

"La vida está hecha de momentos, trocitos de mica en un estrecho y largo camino de granito. Sería maravilloso que nos llegaran intactos, sobre todo llevando la vida que llevamos la mayoría de nosotros, peor eso no puede ocurrir. Tenemos que aprender a vivir, vivir realmente... amar el viaje, no el destino" Anna Quindlen, novelista y periodista, reflexiona sobre qué hace falta para "tener una vida plena": disfrutar del día a día siendo tú mismo, en lugar de dejar que pase el tiempo. "Porque si no supiéramos que las agujas del reloj avanzan, sería muy fácil desperdiciar el tiempo". Su madre murió cuando ella tenía diecinueve años: en ese momento, pasé de ver el mundo en blanco y negro a disfrutarlo en tecnicolor... Aprendí algo sobre la vida, que es gloriosa y que no sirve de nada pensar que es para siempre". Pero, ¿cómo vivir pensando así?. En este libro, Anna Quindlen nos guía en ese camino.

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Short Guide to a Happy Life honors the life of a cherished and loyal friend and offers a heartening lesson on our four-legged family members: Sometimes an old dog can teach us new tricks. “The life of a good dog is like the life of a good person, only shorter and more compressed,” writes Pulitzer Prize-winning author Anna Quindlen about her beloved black Labrador retriever, Beau. With her trademark wisdom and humor, Quindlen reflects on how her life has unfolded in tandem with Beau’s, and on the lessons she’s learned by watching him: to roll with the punches, to take things as they come, to measure herself not in terms of the past or the future but of the present, to raise her nose in the air from time to time and, at least metaphorically, holler, “I smell bacon!” Good Dog. Stay. is a loving testament to canine companionship, a reflection on the impact a dog leaves on us, and a heartfelt ode to a dear pet.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A superb novel about two sisters, the true meaning of success, and the qualities in life that matter most from beloved, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Anna Quindlen “The dialogue sparkles, the insights are right on . . . and the characters are appealing. . . . [Rise and Shine] has humor, heartbreak and drama.”—The Charlotte Observer It’s an otherwise ordinary Monday when Meghan Fitzmaurice’s perfect life hits a wall. A household name as the host of Rise and Shine, the country’s highest-rated morning talk show, Meghan cuts to a commercial break—but not before she mutters two forbidden words into her open mike. In an instant, it’s the end of an era, not only for Meghan, who is unaccustomed to dealing with adversity, but also for her younger sister, Bridget, a social worker in the Bronx who has always lived in Meghan’s long shadow. The effect of Meghan’s on-air truth telling reverberates through both their lives, affecting Meghan’s son, husband, friends, and fans, as well as Bridget’s perception of her sister, their complex childhood, and herself. What follows is a story about how, in very different ways, the Fitzmaurice women adapt, survive, and manage to bring the whole teeming world of New York to heel by dint of their smart mouths, quick wits, and the powerful connection between them that even the worst tragedy cannot shatter.

Bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Quindlen takes readers on a delightful tour of the English capital, comparing the London of fact with the London of fiction.

Anna Quindlen offers deep truths from her life to motivate and inspire you to become your most authentic self. “Trying to be perfect may be inevitable for people who are smart and ambitious and interested in the world and its good opinion. . . . What is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself.” In Being Perfect, Anna Quindlen shares wisdom that, perhaps without knowing it, you have longed to hear: about “the perfection trap,” the price you pay when you become ensnared in it, and the key to setting yourself free. Quindlen believes that when your success looks good to the world but doesn’t feel good in your heart, it isn’t success at all. She asks you to set aside your friends’ advice, what your family and co-workers demand, and what society expects, and look at the choices you make every day. When you ask yourself why you are making them, Quindlen encourages you to give this answer: For me. “Because they are what I want, or wish for. Because they reflect who and what I am. . . . That way lies dancing to the melodies spun out by your own heart.” At the core of this beautiful book lies the secret of authentic success, the inspiration to embrace your own uniqueness and live the life that is undeniably your own, rich in fulfillment and meaning.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Pulitzer Prize–winner Anna Quindlen offers wisdom, opinions, insights, and reflections about current events and modern life in this provocative and inspiring book. “A tour de force for our time, [Loud and Clear] is equally as compelling as a look at public events as it is a reflection on being a woman and on motherhood.”—The Sunday Oklahoman With her trademark insight and her special ability to convey the impact public events have on ordinary lives, Anna Quindlen here combines commentary on American society and the world at large with reflections on being a woman, a writer, and a mother. In these pieces, first written for Newsweek and The New York Times, Loud and Clear takes on topics ranging from social change to raising children, from the political and emotional aftermath of September 11 to personal values, from the impact on individuals of global events to the growth that can be gained by spending summer days staring into the middle distance. Grounding the public in the private, connecting people to each other and to the greater world, Quindlen encourages us to develop authentic lives, even as she serves as a catalyst for political and social change.

Deux êtres que tout oppose voient leur vie bouleversée par la découverte d''un bébé abandonné. Un grand roman pudique et élégant sur une amitié qui n''ose dire son nom. Mme Blessing, quatre-vingts printemps, vit seule parmi ses souvenirs dans son immense propriété. Eternelle insatisfaite, d''un caractère volontiers grognon, elle ne tolère que la présence de Skip, son homme à tout faire, jeune délinquant repenti. Quand ce dernier trouve devant la porte un bébé abandonné, il redoute la réaction de son austère patronne. Contre toute attente, Mme Blessing se prend d''affection pour la petite, rebaptisée Faith, et semble trouver une seconde jeunesse. Unis par ce secret, l''octogénaire et le jeune homme nouent de nouveaux liens, subtil mélange d''amitié et de respect. Mais l''arrivée de cet enfant force la digne Mme Blessing à s''interroger sur sa vie. Une vie tragique, jalonnée de secrets, de drames, de non-dits, dont elle n''a pas fini de payer le prix fort...