Sweet Vidalia

She made herself see Robert with the kids, telling stories of crafty, talking rabbits and determined turtles, his face bright with meanings, with silliness. Made herself see the two of them laughing together in bed, they had done that. That was true. Through the years, they''d had happiness and closeness. They had.

As Eliza sits at her husband''s funeral, still stunned by the suddenness of his death, she discovers a lie that turns her life upside down. But Eliza has a core of resourceful steel that does not let her down and an innate emotional generosity that she struggles to cling to when faced with an almost overwhelming sense of bitterness.

What emerges is a profoundly compelling portrait of a woman worn down by life to a gem stone quality of endurance and beauty. Love, loss and family secrets can overwhelm us at any point in our lives, but Eliza refuses to give in...