The House of Deep Water

Book excerpt: Three women learn what it means to come home--and to make peace with the family, love affairs, and memories they'd once left behind--in this stunning and perceptive debut novel. River Bend, Michigan, is the kind of small town most can't imagine leaving but three women couldn't wait to escape. When each must return--Linda Williams, never sure what she wants; her mother, Paula, always too sure; and Beth DeWitt, one of River Bend's only black daughters, now a mother of two who'd planned to raise her own children anywhere else--their paths collide under Beth's father's roof. As one town struggles to contain all of their love affairs and secrets, a local scandal forces Beth to confront her own devastating past. Uniting the voices of mothers and daughters, husbands, lovers, and fathers, this unforgettable debut novel offers both a compulsively readable family story and a riveting portrait of small-town America today. With wisdom, humor, and exceptional heart, The House of Deep Water explores motherhood, trauma, love, loss, and new beginnings found in that most unlikely place: home.