Laugh-out-loud, brutally honest, and heartfelt.
A woman’s carefully constructed life comes undone and reassembled in Brown’s sharp, darkly funny meditation on midlife, identity, and letting go. Peg is a successful real estate agent and mother. But as menopause descends, bringing with its hot flashes and emotional whiplash, her husband of nearly three decades walks away, her children drift beyond her reach, and even her workplace becomes fraught with rivalry and humiliation.
Brown charts Peg’s unraveling with biting humor and unflinching honesty, from disastrous affirmations to a primal, sand-streaked meltdown on the beach. The story shifts between Peg’s present-day chaos and moments of reflection, balancing humor with a quiet sense of loss. The people around her, especially her unreliable ex and the younger coworker nipping at her heels, bring out the generational and emotional tensions she can’t ignore. In the end, the novel makes a gentle but clear case: falling apart might be the only way forward.
A candid, relatable portrait of a woman discovering that losing control may be the first step toward reclaiming herself.
Atmosphere Press
Pub date April 21, 2026
ISBN 979-8901741788
Print length 376 pages
Price $18.99 (USD) Paperback, $7.99 Kindle edition
