{"product_id":"same-as-it-ever-was-9781399608220b","title":"Same as it Ever Was","description":"\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003eThe author of \u003cspan style=\"font-style: italic;\"\u003eThe Most Fun We Ever Had\u003c\/span\u003e returns with a brilliantly observed family drama, in which a long marriage faces imminent derailment from events both past and present\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAt fifty-seven, Julia Ames has found herself with an improbably lovely life. Despite her inclination towards self-sabotage, she has a husband she loves, two happy children and a quiet, contented existence in the suburbs.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut, out of the blue, things begin to change.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHer always well-behaved son is acting strangely. Her beloved but belligerent teenage daughter is about to depart for college.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd, in the local grocery store, Julia encounters a woman she hasn't seen for twenty years - a woman whose friendship was once both her lifeline and, very nearly, her downfall.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAll of a sudden, Julia's peaceful family setup and her long, affection-filled marriage face imminent derailment from events both past and present.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe author of \u003cspan style=\"font-style: italic;\"\u003eThe Most Fun We Ever Had\u003c\/span\u003e returns with another brilliantly observed family drama, which examines the complete and complicated trajectory of one woman's life and asks what it takes to make - and to not break - a family.\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003e''I finished this wonderful book in floods of tears. What a joy to let a writer of such talent suffuse us with a life''s worth of humour and pain, affection and mess'' Jessie Burton\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''Witty and insightful. A powerful exploration of marriage, motherhood and self'' Bonnie Garmus\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''One of those big, grown-up existential novels about parenthood and marriage and teenagers and friendship and family life . . . Both easy reading and profound at the same time, all of it cleverly brushed with wit and humour'' Matt Haig\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Weidenfeld \u0026 Nicolson","offers":[{"title":"Bargain","offer_id":42822081642576,"sku":"9781399608220B","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0592\/8173\/5760\/files\/9781399608220-l.jpg?v=1785886406","url":"https:\/\/bookoutlet.com\/products\/same-as-it-ever-was-9781399608220b","provider":"Book Outlet","version":"1.0","type":"link"}