Truth of the Matter

Starting over means looking back for a mother and daughter on the road to reinventing themselves in a moving novel about family secrets and second chances by Wall Street Journal bestselling author Jamie Beck.

Seventeen years ago, two pink stripes on a pregnancy test changed Anne Sullivan’s life. She abandoned her artistic ambitions, married her college sweetheart before graduation, and—like the mother she lost in childhood—devoted herself to her family. To say she didn’t see the divorce coming is an understatement. Now, eager to distance herself from her ex and his lover, she moves with her troubled daughter, Katy, to the quaint bayside town of Potomac Point, where she spent her childhood summers.

But her fresh start stalls when the contractor and onetime love interest renovating her grandparents’ old house discovers a vintage recipe box containing hints about her beloved grandmother’s hidden past. Anne is drawn into exploring the mysterious clues about the woman whose memory is fading, while also helping her daughter manage a rocky adjustment to a new school. When uncovered secrets shatter past beliefs, each woman must confront her deepest fears in order to learn it’s never too late to live her best life.


Genre: General Fiction

"This is [a] sharp and graceful tale of mothers and daughters, secrets and tangled family histories. Jamie Beck brings her clear-eyed prose style and smart characterizations to the story of a mother and daughter doing their best—and often failing—to make their way to a new life after a divorce. A thoughtful, moving book from a writer stepping into the fullness of her talents." - Barbara O'Neal