Growing up in a mill town in Rhode Island, in a household that didn’t foster a love of literature, Ann Hood discovered nonetheless the transformative power of books. She learned to channel her imagination, ambitions and curiosity by devouring ever-growing stacks. In MORNINGSTAR, Hood recollects how THE BELL JAR, MARJORIE MORNINGSTAR, THE HARRAD EXPERIMENT and THE OUTSIDERS influenced her teen psyche and introduced her to topics that could not be discussed at home. Later, JOHNNY GOT HIS GUN and THE GRAPES OF WRATH dramatically influenced her political thinking, while the Vietnam War and the Kent State shootings became headline news.

Ava’s 25-year marriage has fallen apart, and her two grown children are pursuing their own lives outside of the country. Ava joins a book group, not only for her love of reading but also out of sheer desperation for companionship. The group’s goal throughout the year is for each member to present the book that matters most to them. Ava rediscovers a mysterious book from her childhood --- one that helped her through the traumas of the untimely deaths of her sister and mother. Alternating with Ava’s story is that of her troubled daughter Maggie, who, living in Paris, descends into a destructive relationship with an older man. Ava’s mission to find that book and its enigmatic author takes her on a quest that unravels the secrets of her past and offers her and Maggie the chance to remake their lives.

In KNITTING PEARLS, two dozen writers write about the transformative and healing powers of knitting. Lily King remembers the year her family lived in Italy, and a knitted hat that helped her daughter adjust to her new home. Laura Lippman explores how converting to Judaism changed not only Christmas but also her mother’s gift of a knitted stocking. Jodi Picoult remembers her grandmother and how, through knitting, she felt that everlasting love. These personal stories by award-winning writers celebrate the moments of loss and love intertwined in the rhythm, ritual and pleasure of knitting.

AN ITALIAN WIFE begins in turn-of-the-century Italy, when 14-year-old Josephine Rimaldi is forced into an arranged marriage to a man she doesn't know or love who is about to depart for America, where she later joins him. Bound by tradition, Josephine gives birth to seven children. The last, Valentina, is conceived in passion, born in secret and given up for adoption. Josephine spends the rest of her life searching for her lost child, keeping her secret even as her other children go off to war, get married and make their own mistakes.

Why does knitting occupy a place in the hearts of so many writers? What’s so magical and transformative about yarn and needles? How does knitting help us get through life-changing events and inspire joy? In KNITTING YARNS, 27 writers --- including Anita Shreve, Elizabeth Berg, Ann Patchett and Barbara Kingsolver --- tell stories about how knitting healed, challenged, or helped them to grow.

Why does knitting occupy a place in the hearts of so many writers? What’s so magical and transformative about yarn and needles? How does knitting help us get through life-changing events and inspire joy? In KNITTING YARNS, 27 writers --- including Anita Shreve, Elizabeth Berg, Ann Patchett and Barbara Kingsolver --- tell stories about how knitting healed, challenged, or helped them to grow.

Claire struggles over the decision of whether to stay in a loveless marriage or follow the man she loves and whose baby she may be carrying. Decades earlier, in 1919, Vivien Lowe, an obituary writer, is searching for her lover who disappeared in the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 --- Vivien helps others cope with their grief and begins to understand the devastation of her own terrible loss. The connection between Claire and Vivien will change the life of one of them in extraordinary ways.

After the sudden loss of her only child, Mary Baxter joins a knitting circle in Providence, Rhode Island, as a way to fill the empty hours and lonely days. The women welcome her, each teaching Mary a new knitting technique and, as they do, revealing their own personal stories of loss, love, and hope. Eventually Mary is able to tell her own story of grief and in so doing reclaims her love for her husband, faces the hard truths about her relationship with her mother, and finds the spark of life again.