“No one in my mother’s family ever talks about anything that can be categorized as unpleasant or as having to do with emotions, and, as a result, they no longer have anything to say. For them it’s not a matter of keeping secrets; it’s a matter of being polite, mannerly, and tough. The McLaughlins couldn’t spill their woes or ask for help even if they wanted to, because they don’t have the vocabulary. They are stranded within themselves, convinced that the only way is to silently persevere.”

Within Arm’s Reach follows three generations of an Irish-American Catholic family who are jarred into crisis by an unexpected pregnancy. This lyrical first novel is told through six different points of view, including those of the unmarried, pregnant Gracie, a local advice columnist; and her grandmother, the matriarch, who is struggling with her commitments to both the living and the dead. Within Arm’s Reach is a poignant reminder of how interconnected our lives are with those we love, how much more we inherit than wills decree, and how the ghosts of our ancestors walk by our sides every day.

Ann Napolitano artfully paints a riveting portrait of a family in crisis, depicting how the ties that bind us so closely to one another are often the ones that cause us the most pain. As the McLaughlins respond to the unplanned and profound change in Gracie’s life, their own memories and personal stories begin to emerge.

In the end, Napolitano creates a family quilt of sorts, each person’s life and actions closely woven throughout the fabric of the past, present, and future. Within Arm’s Reach is a rich and deeply satisfying narrative of guilt, love, betrayal, and the ultimate loyalty—that of blood.

"In Napolitano's wonderful first novel, deftly told from six points of view, a New Jersey family bears witness to the cycle of life. The matriarch of the Irish-American McLaughlin clan, Catharine, is living in a care facility, her 'whole life [in] one room.' On the other end of the spectrum, Catharine's unmarried granddaughter, Gracie, is pregnant by a man she doesn't love. The news is a surprise: Gracie wishes she'd conceived immaculately; her sister, Lila, can't believe Gracie's pregnant again; and Catharine has hangups about illegitimacy. Napolitano gracefully and honestly charts the tensions as the various family members come together. 'We are family, but we have very little in common except that we are terrible at small talk,' muses Lila at an Easter gathering. '[W]e size each other up and glance for the nearest exit and wonder, Why are you here? Why am I here?' Gracie's unborn child promises both conflict and hope. As Catharine, haunted by loving ghosts of the past, recalls, 'There was order to our family then, and small children running around filling the rooms with laughter.... [W]hen the baby comes, when the laughter of children fill our rooms again, everything will settle down. This family will be whole.' Catharine's hopes becomes the readers' hopes as well, as they watch her family — her 'life's work' — grow and endure. Agent, Elaine Koster. (July)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information, Inc.)

“Napolitano writes with beauty and power, skillfully bringing her characters within arms’s reach until your heart is taken and this family becomes your own. This novel is a must-read for any book group.” —Hannah Tinti, author of Animal Crackers

“Napolitano has created a fascinating family in crisis. . . . Successfully skirting melodrama, [she] gives us a family drama that says even the most contentious can find a bit of happiness.” —Hartford Courant

“As if we are friends she brought home for the holidays, Ann Napolitano plops us onto the living room sofa of a big family with big problems and gives us an intimate view of what goes on behind closed doors. Within Arm’s Reach is a deft, vivacious novel whose author compels us to stay seated until the very last word.” —Helen Ellis, author of Eating the Cheshire Cat

“A fresh and exceptionally strong family portrait.” —Denver Post

From the Trade Paperback edition.

Single, 29 and pregnant, Gracie's decision to keep the baby is just one of a series of events for which her family--largely successful, competitive, and judgmental--isn't prepared. Their individual responses and crises form the strands of a mesmerizing story of guilt, love, betrayal, and the loyalty of blood.

So says Grade Leary in the first line of "Within Arm's Reach. The elder daughter of the eldest of Gram McLaughlin's six surviving children, Gracie thinks about giving birth because, at 29 and single, she finds herself pregnant. Her decision to break up with the father and keep the baby is just one of a series of events for which the McLaughlin clan--largely successful, competitive, and judgmental--isn't prepared. How each family member copes with Grade's news, as well as with their own individual crises, form the strands of a mesmerizing story of guilt, love, betrayal, and the loyally of blood. "Within Arm's Reach reads like a female version of Jonathan Franzen's "The Corrections, while its lyrical and beautiful prose can be compared to such fine literary talents as Ann Beattie, Alice Munro, and Julia Glass.

Ann Napolitano is a graduate of Connecticut College and received her MFA from New York University, where she studied with Paule Marshall and Dani Shapiro. She lives in New York City.