The House Within

Book excerpt: A novel of linked stories about a woman's search for identity beyond family ties, expectations and demands. Bethany Dixon is at the centre of a complex network of relationships. She is mother and stepmother, wife and ex, daughter-in-law, sister and lover. Earthy, generous, addicted to children and food, Bethany has yet to establish her place in the world. Peter, who has loved and left her, still perceives her as the central drama of his life. In fragments and snapshots, Bethany, Peter and their children see their lives revealed as twenty-five years pass in the blink of a shutter. They discover their separate identities from unlikely sources.