Circle of Three
Newly widowed, Carrie is overwhelmed by the guilt of knowing her marriage died long before her husband's fatal heart attack. Struggling to go on for the sake of her teenaged daughter, Ruth, and her overly possessive mother, Dana, Carrie slowly emerges from the sorrow that has embraced her and begins to pull her life together, with the help from an unexpected sources. Jess, Carrie's first love, re-enters her world and offers her the lifeline that will help her pull herself out of the drowning place she's been in.
Inspired with new purpose, and a passion she thought she'd never have again, Carrie must find a way to weave her new life—and love—into a family struggling with their own pain and disappointment, who find her newfound happiness is threat to their own precarious balance.
Wise, moving, and heartbreakingly real, Circle of Three offers women a deeper understanding of one another, of themselves, and of the perplexing and invigorating magic that is life itself.
A Selection of the Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club
“Not since Barbara Kingsolver's The Bean Trees and Pigs in Heaven have I met three women so delightfully real, down-home, and unforgettable.” ~The Huntsville Times
“…Patricia Gaffney writes about women's lives with grace, insight and a remarkable ability to involve readers in her characters' stories. Circle of Three … reaffirms what you've already discovered. Gaffney is a great storyteller, and her latest tale should keep readers happy… [The characters] are as complex, three-dimensional and intriguing as any women you know.” ~Harrisburg Patriot-News
“Patricia Gaffney has done it again. In The Saving Graces, she wove characters so real you felt a part of their friendships. Now, in Circle of Three, she spins a tale about a family so genuine you will swear you know them.” ~Book Page
“Filled with insight, humor, and heart, Circle of Three celebrates the joys and frustrations of what it's like to have a mother and daughter while struggling to be a mother and daughter. Most of all, Circle of Three reminds us what's it like to be a woman.” ~Nora Roberts