A compelling, clear-eyed look into love, madness, wisdom, & reconciliation. The powers of love & memory collide with broken hearts, broken minds, & the cultural dissonance of growing up Jewish in the South in this poignant portrait of family & identity. When Marsha Rose spends the summer of 1989 with Paul, her lover who lives in Seattle, part of the city's charm is that it's a continent away from where she grew up in South Carolina. Can Marsha walk from her past in to a new life with Paul? First she must begin to understand her own story, which bears little resemblance to the flip articles she writes for her livelihood. With the unexpected appearance of Jody Lurrey, Marsha has little choice but to reexamine who she is & from where she has come. Marsha & Jody were inseparable as children, virtually twinned by their parents' close friendship & their own emotional intimacy. But Marsha hasn't seen Jody since he became mentally ill, a condition for which she assumes a crushing burden of guilt. With Jody in Seattle, Marsha's past becomes to intensely present, it's bound to alter her failure. With honesty & compassion, & an artist's attention to detail, the author explores the meaning of home.