Award-winning novelist Tóibín brings to this stunning first collection of short works an acute understanding of human frailty and longing. These nine beautifully written, intensely intimate stories explore the psychological push and pull between mother and son. Each story is centered on a transformative moment that alters the delicate balance of power in that relationship and changes the way mother and son perceive one another. With exquisite grace...

"Sonya used to perform on stage. She used to attend glamorous parties, date handsome men, ride in fast cars. But somewhere along the way, the stage lights Sonya lived for dimmed for good. And then, in their absence, came darkness--blackouts, empty cupboards, hazy nights she can't remember. Haunted by her failed career and unresolved childhood trauma, Sonya has fallen deep into an alcoholic abyss. What keeps Sonya from losing herself completely is...

"All children have imaginary friends, Georgina tells herself. It's perfectly normal, and they all grow out of it in the end. But when her seven-year-old son, Cody, tells her about New Granny, the new friend he's met in the park, Georgina is instantly suspicious. Something-call it maternal instinct-tells her he isn't making it up. But maybe Georgina is losing her mind. It wouldn't be the first time, after all. And with her own mother's recent death...

"Acclaimed novelist Brian Morton delivers a moving, darkly funny memoir of his mother's vibrant life and the many ways in which their tight but turbulent relationship was refashioned in her twilight years. Tasha Morton is a force of nature: a brilliant educator who's left her mark on generations of students -- and also a whirlwind of a mother: intrusive, chaotic, oppressively devoted and irrepressible. For decades, her son, Brian, has kept her at...

When her son is released from prison after serving time for the negligent homicide of his girlfriend, Thea is committed to helping him make amends until attempts on their lives are made, leading her to believe that those who are threatening them have something to hide.

This book details the challenges caregivers face on a daily basis and how to overcome them. Overall, the book can and will make you understand and respect all caregivers for what they do...

"Eight-year-old Edgar Fini remembers nothing of the accident people still whisper about. He only knows that his father is gone, his mother has a limp, and his grandmother believes in ghosts. When Edgar meets a man with his own tragic story, the boy begins a journey into a secret wilderness where nothing is clear: not even the line between the living and the dead. In order to save her son, Lucy has no choice but to confront the demons of her past."--Amazon.com....

In this heartfelt mother's ode to her baby boy, she shares her hopes and dreams for him as she envisions him exploring the world and blazing his own trail.

"Meg Meeker, M.D., acclaimed author of Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters, now turns to an equally powerful relationship in the family: the one between mother and son. From the moment a mother holds her newborn son, his eyes tell her that she is his world. But often, as he grows up, the boy who needs her simultaneously pushes her away. Calling upon thirty years of experience as a pediatrician, Meg Meeker, M.D., a highly sought after national speaker,...

Oliver likes finding things out, so when his mother cannot explain the gurgling in the bathtub he builds a submarine, goes down the drain, and meets a group of vacationing penguins.