The Underside of Joy - Softcover

Prince Halverson, Seré

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0007438915 ISBN 13: 9780007438914

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2012

Synopsis

What if the only way to keep your children is to let them go? Perfect for all fans of Jodi Picoult.

Losing a husband is unbearable. But losing her children too would be one heartbreak too many...

Ella is happily settled in family life with her husband Joe and their two young children, Zach and Annie. Then the unthinkable happens – Joe is killed in a tragic accident.

Distraught, Ella’s only solace is the children, who she clings to for dear life. But she can’t help feeling that the happiness she took for granted is over for good. Her worst fears are realised when Joe’s beautiful ex-wife Paige, who deserted her family three years earlier, turns up at his funeral, determined to reclaim her children.

Struggling with her own grief, Ella is now forced to battle for her family and the life which she loves. And when pushed to the limits, Ella must decide who is the best mother for her children.

About this title

Review:

‘The writing in The Underside of Joy is as purely beautiful as the story is emotionally complex. When Ella Beene is wrenched from a state of unexamined happiness into confusion and grief, she finds that her only hope of emerging whole is to face searing and long-buried truths. Ella embarks on a difficult journey, both morally and materially, one that requires her to risk losing everything she most loves. I cheered (sometimes through tears) her every step.’
Marisa de los Santos

‘Halverson’s prose is graceful, beguiling and resonant with emotion–and she poses some difficult questions regarding the nature of family. A fabulous book club choice!’
Jennie Tuner-Collins, Joseph-Beth Booksellers

About the Author:

Seré Prince Halverson lives in Northern California and worked as a freelance copywriter for twenty years while she wrote fiction. She and her husband have four grown-up children. She is a stepmum, and grew up with a stepmum.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0007438915
• ISBN 13: 9780007438914
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 382