Cathi Hanauer

Sweet Ruin Cathi Hanauer

Thirty-seven-year-old Elayna Leopold used to be a New York magazine editor, until she and her young family moved to suburban New Jersey. Two years ago, the death of an infant son sent her into a deep depression---a darkness that begins to lift in the company of a handsome, unattached neighbor. As she fights yearnings that could destroy everything that gives her life shape, a threat to her young daughter's welfare emerges from an unlikely source, throwing Elayna's questionable morality into stark relief---and forcing her to make choices she never dreamed she would have to make. Smart and gripping, Elayna's story raises heartrendering questions about the challenges of ordinary life---marriage, career, independence, and sexuality---that have no easy answers. Sweet Ruin is a triumph of contemporary fiction from a writer known for her candor and wisdom.