Book picks similar to
About Us by Jon Rance


couple-married
domestic-fiction
enjoyable
older

With or Without You


Drew Davies - 2020
    They never took the train at rush hour, and they avoided their noisy neighbour upstairs. Naveem devoted his spare time to vintage train models, and Wendy to re-reading the well-thumbed pages of her favourite books. It didn’t matter what others thought about their small, quiet life together – they were happy.After the coma, Wendy barely recognises herself. When she’s not holding the love of her life’s hand, accompanied by the beep of the life-support machine, who is she? The nurse tells her to talk to Naveem – that he can still hear her – but she doesn’t have a single thing to say.Suddenly Wendy can’t bear the silence. She needs something, anything, to talk to Naveem about. Suddenly she’s losing herself at fairgrounds packed with crowds and candyfloss, she’s at the airport, waiting for the whoosh of the planes as they take off, making friends with the neighbour she has spent over a decade avoiding.Knowing that every breath her husband takes might be his last, Wendy has no choice but to try to carry on without him. Should she feel guilty about living while his life is on pause? And when – if – he wakes up, will he still love the woman she has become?This poignant, moving and uplifting tale is for anyone who has taken life for granted, neglected to say ‘I love you’ to their loved ones, or forgotten to find happiness in the little things. Perfect for fans of Josie Silver, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and Jojo Moyes.

Phil Lynott: The Rocker


Mark Putterford - 1994
    Using dozens of frank interviews with family friends and band members, this is a touching and shocking account of the life of the Irish legend.Mark Putterford's eye opening biography traces Lynott's visionary ambitions to fuse dance music and heavy rock as well as influences on the early careers of future stars like Bob Geldof, Midge Ure, Huey Lewis and Mark Knopfler.Using dozens of frank interviews with family, friends and band members, Putterford gives us a touching and sometimes shocking account of the life of the one and only black Irish rock legend.Includes full discography.

Love, Work, Children


Cheryl Mendelson - 2005
    In this distinctive world, Peter Frankel, a successful partner in a prestigious law firm, lives a seemingly contented life with his talented wife and his two Ivy League—educated children. Yet in middle age Peter finds himself discontent. His wife’s narrowness and her preoccupation with appearances leaves him cold, his job does not fulfill his creative bent, and he fears that his children, Susan and Louis, have grown into skeptical young adults who shun marriage and stability. So when Peter’s wife is badly hurt in a car accident and lies in a coma, he finds himself guiltily relieved–and newly drawn toward his children as they too struggle with ambivalent feelings about the mother who’s never really shown them much love. As Susan, a cerebral doctoral student, becomes unhappily involved with an aspiring playwright and Louis is caught up in a futile pursuit of an ambitious journalist, Peter’s own quiet life is shaken up, and longings he has stifled for years come rumbling to the surface.Freed from his wife’s judgments, Peter throws himself into his greatest pleasure, the work he does for a foundation that funds offbeat artistic projects. And as his passion for this work ignites, so does his desire for another woman. But the stubborn morality that has steered Peter’s life is a force to be reckoned with–and one from which he may never entirely escape.Love, Work, Children is a profoundly insightful novel about two generations and the colorful urban world they inhabit. A superb portrayal of one of New York’s exceptional neighborhoods, this is a story, ultimately, about the self-imposed obstacles to true happiness–and a testament to the joy one can find in overcoming them.From the Hardcover edition.

Murder by Chance


Pat Dennis - 2013
    At fifty, Betty is unemployed, divorced and penniless, but with her stunningly beautiful niece Lori, she opens Take A Chance Tours, a Chicago-based company specializing in gaming destinations. Betty quickly becomes close friends with Tillie, the perky, effervescent bus driver who happens to be an ex-con. As soon as the tour bus arrives at Moose Lake Bay Resort and Casino in northern Minnesota, Betty and her driver Tillie, discover a dead body in the locked bathroom of their motor coach. The 350-pound corpse is riddled with stab wounds. With Tillie and Lori's help, Betty puts her amateur sleuth ability to work and searches for the killer.

Susan Settles Down


Molly Clavering - 1936
    Their neighbours prove a mixed bag, including the towering, kindly Jed Armstrong, a farmer whose land 'marches with' theirs, the local vicar and his family, and the three gossipy Pringle sisters, who travel by donkey-drawn cart and get their knives into one and all. After a bumpy start, with a disagreeable cook and her nincompoop daughter as their only help, Susan and Oliver begin to settle in nicely, and find themselves in the midst of romance, confusion, and earthy hilarity.Molly Clavering was for many years the neighbour and friend of bestselling author D.E. Stevenson, and they may well have influenced one another's writing. First published in 1936 (under the pseudonym B. Mollett) and out of print for more than 80 years, Susan Settles Down is one of her most cheerful and vivid romantic comedies. This new edition features an introduction by Elizabeth Crawford.

Keeper of the House


Rebecca T. Godwin - 1994
    In 1929, due to mysterious family circumstances, Minyon is given up by her grandmother to the employment of Ariadne Fleming, a white madam in the famously elegant brothel called Hazelhedge. At the age of fourteen, she becomes a pair of eyes and hands, watching and working almost invisibly in a world where men and women leave their inhibition, and their pasts, at the door. As Minyon grows up in the household with other black people who provide behind-the-scenes support of Hazelhedge, she cannot escape her haunting childhood memories. Even while bearing witness to the events unfolding around her, Minyon seeks to find her place in the world, and her pace within herself.

Before We Say Goodbye


Madeleine Reiss - 2018
    . .Heart-warming and tear-jerking, Before We Say Goodbye is a devastatingly beautiful novel about love, family and learning to let go for fans of Jojo Moyes.

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood


Eric Burdon - 2001
    Burdon was ripped off by unscrupulous agents, accountants, and record labels, hounded by the police, and framed for a crime he didn't commit. Yet through it all, he never became bitter. He was the first rocker to play behind the Iron Curtain. He sang with Jimi Hendrix, chased Jim Morrison out of his house with a .44, and introduced John Lee Hooker to the toughest venue Hooker ever played. Eric Burdon explains how he became the "Egg Man" in the Beatles' "I am the Walrus." With the enthusiasm and good humor of his live shows, Burdon recalls the tense reunion between John Lennon and Lennon's long-estranged father; racing motorcycles across the California desert with Steve McQueen; picketing the offices of MGM Records for nonpayment of royalties; performing in wartime Sarajevo with a symphony orchestra; getting run out of Meridian, Mississippi for promoting black music, and singing his heart out year after year. A complete discography and fifty photographs, many never before published, are included in this unforgettable memoir. "Burdon has lived like a real rocker." -New York Times Book Review "Riveting and informative."-Los Angeles Times "These reminiscences will delight Burdon's fans . . . in general."-Library Journal

Blind Devotion


S. Nelson - 2018
    But in order for that plan to become a reality, I must do everything my father asks, including marrying a man I barely know. Enter Maxton Colter, a walking contradiction and not the man my father chose for me. He’s infuriatingly arrogant… yet charming. He’s inappropriate… yet intriguing. He’s a playboy… yet focuses all his attention on me. He’s doing everything he can to unravel my goal to one day take over the firm. Question is… will I fall prey to the undeniable chemistry between us and allow him to destroy my dream?

Filthy


Lucia Jordan - 2015
    Gabriel remembered how good she’d felt in his arms when they’d been lovers. The feel of her wildly beating pulse, her scent, her warmth. He’d left his mark on her slender throat more than once. Though he smiled and made small talk, his attention remained with the woman he’d never expected to see again. Angie is now a cop, and the bad boy is back to change her life forever. Only mature readers should download this book.

Paper Airplanes


Tabitha Forney - 2021
    Erin O’Connor has everything she’s ever dreamed of: good friends, a high-powered career at a boutique Manhattan firm, and a husband she adores. They have plans for their life together: careers, children, and maybe even a house in the country. But life has other plans. Daniel is a trader who works on the 101st floor of the World Trade Center.Erin is drinking margaritas on a beach in Mallorca, helping her best friend get over a breakup, when she hears a plane has crashed into Daniel’s building. On a television at the smoky hotel bar, she watches his building collapse. She makes her way home with the help of a stranger named Alec, and once there, she haunts Ground Zero, nearby hospitals, and trauma centers, plastering walls and fences with missing-person flyers. But there’s no trace of Daniel.After accepting Daniel’s death, Erin struggles to get her life back on track but makes a series of bad decisions and begins to live her life in a self-destructive fog of booze and pills. It’s not until she hits rock bottom that she realizes it’s up to her to decide: Was her destiny sealed with Daniel’s? Or is there life after happily ever after?

Forever His


Ann Walker - 2016
    One day her demanding bosses ask her to do something she knows is unethical. Clara refuses to comply and is forced out of the company. Clara is heartbroken, but decides to fulfil a lifelong dream and embark on a trip of a lifetime. On the way she meets a good looking stranger who’s path seems destined to weave with her own. Follow Clara’s journey as she travels to find hope, love and happiness. ~Love Far Away~ Julia has the perfect life, family and house. Although she came from humble beginnings, she and her husband have created a great life for their children. Julia's world is rocked when serious allegations are leveled at her husband that breaks their previously unbreakable bond. With her perfect life in shambles, Julia reluctantly decides to take a trip to Europe with her friends to blow off some steam. Julia is reserved at first, but after arriving, she lets her guard down and opens up. She begins to have the time of her life when she meets a handsome man unexpectedly. The new acquaintance presence, threatens to further complicate her world and place her in an unwinnable position. Follow Julia's journey as she searches to find herself, the truth and if true love is real. ~Voyage In His Arms~ Jaime is engaged and is busy planning the best day of her life. Things are going according to planned until one day she gets the shock of her life. Jamie decides to confront her worst nightmare head on and live in the moment. A few weeks later Jamie finds herself aboard a luxury cruise ship deep on the Pacific Ocean. While on the journey Jamie discovers herself giving in to her inhibitions, as she longs to live, love and laugh again. ~Loving the Escort~ Janet is living her life the best she can. That is until the weight of the world falls down on her shoulders. Her mother falls deathly ill and to save her life Janet decides to enter a realm of the previously unimaginable. Follow Janet as she delves deeper into her new world of secrecy, lust, and maybe even love. ~Loving The White Billionaire~ Jaida is planning the biggest day of her life when her world comes crashing down. Her fiancé shows his true colors and she must now learn to live without her only true love. Jaida decides to take a break from life and head to the Caribbean. While there, she meets a vacationing hunky businessman named Axel. The two of them play a flirtatious game of cat and mouse until their passion eventually overflows. Jaida and Axel are pushed back to reality when they go back to the real world that only sees black and white. Follow Jaida’s journey as she tries to move on from past love and maybe capture a new one. ~Mysterious Touch~ Ava has always been different. Before she could articulate it into words, she knew her ability to “see” wasn’t limited to the here and now. Now an independent woman she’s is using her unique gift to solve the toughest missing person’s cases. Traveling to the Deep South, she finds herself thrust into a web of shady small town characters, all potential perpetrators in a multiple missing person’s case. While there, a surprising and irresistible attraction forms and questions begin to surround her judgement. She knows better than to mix business with pleasure, but some connections are difficult to ignore and impossible to deny. Follow Ava as she searches for the truth and embarks on her journey of self-discovery. *Some of these books may be part of a 3 book continuing series.

A Vicious Circle


Amanda Craig - 1996
    Gripping, tender and fiercely funny, it has been instantly recognised as a modern classic about the way we live now.

Prayers for a Planetary Pilgrim: A Personal Manual for Prayer and Ritual


Edward Hays - 1988
    Morning and evening prayers for each of the four seasons, as well as rituals and contemporary psalms for sacred seasons and a wide variety of occasions.

A Child of My Own


Vanessa Carnevale - 2021
    But what she wants could break your heart.Isla and Ben are devoted parents to their beloved daughter, Reese. She is their little miracle, the child they thought they’d never have until donors made her existence possible. But Isla has never told Reese about her biological parents. She wants to be honest with her daughter, but can she bear to open up old wounds?Then Isla receives a call from Lucy, once her closest friend and the donor who made her dreams come true, and it seems she may need to make a decision sooner than she thought. They haven’t spoken in almost ten years, but Lucy has devastating news: she has lost her beloved husband Nate, just after they decided they wanted to become parents after all.Heartbroken for her friend, Isla welcomes Lucy back into her life. But then Lucy comes to Isla with a request that changes everything. If Lucy gets what she wants, Isla’s perfect family could be destroyed. But would she deny the woman who helped her become a mother the chance for her own happiness?A Child of My Own is a heartbreaking, gripping and emotional story about motherhood, loss and friendship, perfect for fans of Jodi Picoult, Kelly Rimmer and Kate Hewitt.