After the Fire : A Novel

Five women at critical crossroads in their lives come together in this gem of a novel set on an island off the coast of Vancouver After the Fire introduces a quintet of very different women as they struggle with abandonment, loss, and new beginnings & mdash;both together and alone. There is Karen Tasuki, who recently separated from her partner and wonders if she & rsquo;ll ever get used to being alone ... until she befriends Red, who cleans houses for the island & rsquo;s privileged inhabitants. Miss James is the eccentric Southern spinster born at the turn of the century. Milly Forbes is a woman whose husband & ldquo;went scot free after stealing twenty years of her life. & rdquo; And the sensible Henrietta & ldquo;Hen & rdquo; Hawkins yearns for her absent, ill husband. On a rural island that they dub a & ldquo;used-wife lot, & rdquo; the five heroines nurture one another as they cope with loneliness, death, and renewed life. Imbued with wit and compassion, After the Fire is a novel about women loving women and women helping women & mdash;and the bond that transcends age, race, and even gender