Publisher's Synopsis
From the author of the critically acclaimed memoir South Mountain Road comes a powerful story of one woman's emotional, intellectual, and sexual awakening.
Following her success as an Academy Award-nominated screenplay writer (Children of a Lesser God) and highly praised memoirist, Hesper Anderson pens an evocative novel that reinforces her reputation as a compelling storyteller.
Long divorced and her children grown, Callie Epstein is packing her house to move to Northern California. Uncovering a box of long-forgotten home movies, she sits back to watch her family's life unfold again before her eyes, reliving the best -- and the worst -- years of her life.
In the center of Greenwich Village is an enclave of green called the MacDougal Gardens. A block long, it can only be reached by the sixteen houses that border it. Or, as some say, by the ghosts who once lived here and enjoy coming back to visit. It's the late sixties, and women like Callie are discovering The Feminine Mystique and The Sexual Response of the Human Female. Feeling trapped in a passionless marriage, Callie begins an affair with a neighbor that leads to a desired, but wrenching, separation from her husband. She soon finds herself struggling to support three children and grappling with her turbulent emotions. In an act of desperation, she accepts an invitation from her lover's unsuspecting wife to stay with them at the beach, hoping to win more than his affection with her presence. At the end of a summer filled with secrets, Callie faces a shocking revelation as the quiet community within the MacDougal Street Gardens implodes.
Unable to remain in New York, emotionally or financially, Callie moves her family across the country to Los Angeles. Thus begins a journey of self-discovery and a search for real independence.
In Callie, Hesper Anderson has created an unforgettable heroine who will resonate deeply with all women.
