Three people--a suburban housewife, a talented documentary photographer, and a detective--living lives they never wanted, hiding secrets that even those closest to them would never suspect, will find that the past doesn't recede ... and that desperation and hunger can lurk behind even the prettiest facades.

New York Times Bestseller: This anthology of Erma Bombeck’s most memorable and humorous essays is a tribute to one of America’s sharpest wits.
When she began writing her regular newspaper column in 1965, Erma Bombeck’s goal was to make housewives laugh. Thirty years later, she had published more than four thousand columns, and earned countless laughs—from housewives, presidents, and everyone in between....

Longing for a traditional family life in the country in spite of her successful career, magazine director Vicky Townsley participates in a contest that has her switching places for one month with Amber Winslow, a busy wife and mother.

Based on the true story of Evelyn Ryan. Offers a revealing study of the housewife's plight during the Eisenhower era, along with an inspiring tale of tenacity and survival against formidable odds. Evelyn is a cheerfully strong-willed mother of ten who compensates for the failings of her alcoholic husband by becoming the most successful "jingle contest" winner in the country.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Friendship, loyalty, and love lie at the heart of this beautifully written, poignant, and sweeping novel of five women who, over the course of four decades, come to redefine what it means to be family.
“This generous and inventive book is a delight to read, an evocation of the power of friendship to sustain, encourage, and embolden us. Join the sisterhood!”—Karen Joy Fowler,...

"The page-turning new novel from the internationally bestselling author known for her "conversational writing style and a knack for making readers care about her characters" (The Washington Post) takes us into the homes of an idyllic suburban neighborhood where we discover the burning secrets hiding just below the surface. Bucolic Newport Cove, where spontaneous block parties occur on balmy nights and all of the streets are named for flowers, is proud...

"Two women are watching each other... Phoebe Miller isn't sure when the rusty car started showing up in the cul-de-sac she calls home, or why its driver would be spying on her. What could be interesting about an unhappy housewife who drowns her sorrows in ice cream and wine and barely leaves her house? When a new family moves in across the street--the exuberant Vicki, who just might become the gossipy best friend Phoebe's always wanted, and her handsome...

Four privileged, bored L.A. housewives make a pact that each will have a year-long extramarital affair. Each others' husbands are off-limits, and they agree to confide only in each other (assuming that dalliances cause trouble because word gets out). And so they embark--two eagerly, one cautiously, and one very reluctantly--on perilous romantic paths that lead to all manner of adventure and intrigue. As the year progresses, secrets are revealed, betrayals...

In the role that won her Broadway’s acclaimed Tony Award, Pauline Collins is the hilariously endearing SHIRLEY VALENTINE, a wisecracking, completely unpredictable English housewife who proves it’s never too late to recapture your dreams. Bored with her suburban life, Shirley takes a chance on adventure when a friend invites her on a vacation to Greece. Within no time she’s back to her rebellious teenage roots, saying yes to a wild fling with...