May Paddock

Surprised by Joy May Paddock

Maura, a philosophy professor in London discovers her actor husband is seeking publicity by coupling with a supermodel. Joan, whose Nicaraguan husband and two of his children were killed during the war against the Contras, decides to leave the country she loves in order to help her surviving stepson begin a new life. Seamus, who patrolled the streets of Boston for more than four decades, loses the use of his foot in an accident and must leave the Police Force in order to avoid a desk job. Seamus is the first to move to upstate New York to be near his daughter. Maura follows him there with her children after months of searching for university jobs. Joan moves nearby after her stepson disappears, and Seamus helps with the search. All three struggle to create new careers, new friends, and perhaps most importantly, new ways of looking at themselves and at life itself.