Synopses & Reviews
In the shadow of loss, three women's lives are entangled and forever changed.Pia
A strong-minded wife and mother with a successful career, Pia finds herself suddenly widowed, bereft of her passion for her profession -- and for life itself. When she sends her twin sons off to college, her reawakening begins with a chance meeting on an airplane. An adversary she used to despise becomes a lover she can't live without. Pia remarries. But haunted by memories and unsettled by the shifting definition of home, she feels the walls of her own life closing in around her.
Lily
Pia's brash, tough-talking sister, Lily, makes a tragic mistake, and the bitter consequences leave her, unimaginably, incarcerated for seven years. With her marriage torn apart and her heart encased in stone, her life is now measured out, hour by hour, in the grinding routine of prison life, punctuated by eagerly awaited phone calls from Pia.
Beth
Beth is married to Pia and Lily's brother, whom she loves. But she's never gotten along with her sisters-in-law. When her life changes in an instant -- transformed by the realization of a parent's worst nightmare -- grief and anger envelop her, further driving a wedge between her and her husband's family.
Each of these women struggles to survive inside her own private prison, longing for a miracle. Beth, who's never been able to face her own failure as a mother, is finally forced to confront the truth, and when she does, discovers that the truth sets her free. Lily finds the last thing she expects -- love -- and, one by one, her defenses fall until at last she's able to confide what really happened on that terrible day. And, in search of the path that will lead her back to herself, Pia stumbles on a hidden antiques shop and ventures inside. Like Alice tumbling down the rabbit hole, she is drawn into a strangely sensual world. The store -- and its exotic owner -- opens the door to a whole new existence, one of swirling colors and chaotic feelings, of longing, desire, and a new lust for life.
Poignant and powerful and surprisingly erotic, The Secret Sisterstells the story of three women bound together by loss and set free by love.
Review
“Honesty, humor and fearlessness. Illuminates the internal landscapes all women navigate.” Houston Chronicle
Review
“A page turner, full of surprises, insight, and spine-tingling erotica.” Helena Independent Record
Review
“Not entertainment in the traditional sense...its an emotional maelstrom worth getting wrapped up in.” Easton Express-Times
Review
“Believable...brilliant...beautifully written...” Armchair Reviews
Review
“Penetrating...honest...A rough gem of a narrative...Pias tale has it all: death, danger, sexual discovery, and resurrection.” Missoula Independent
Synopsis
Exploring the timeless themes of family, self, misfortune, and hope that have made the novels of Anna Quindlen and Sue Miller bestsellers, Joni Rodgers's moving and powerful tale tells the story of three women bound together by loss and set free by love.
Pia feels the walls of her life closing in around her, until she discovers a strangely sensual world that leads her to a new existence.
Lily, Pia's brash, tough-talking sister, makes a tragic mistake that leaves her incarcerated, body and soul. But when she finds the last thing she expects--love--she is at last able to face the past.
Beth, married to Pia and Lily's brother, has never been able to admit her own failure as a mother. Finally forced to confront a tragedy of her own making, she discovers that the truth can set her free.
Synopsis
From the author of "Bald in the Land of Big Hair" comes the story of three very different women and the surprising journey each one takes as she reinvents her life after loss.
Synopsis
Though she is now remarried, Pia has never really gotten over her first husband's death. Her new husband travels most of the time leaving her alone in their pristine home, surrounded by white walls, white furniture, white carpeting. White, white, white. She keeps in touch, by phone, with her sister Lily, who, through a tragic and innocent mistake, was responsible for the death of her niece in a car accident and is now serving time in jail. Pia also talks to her sister–in–law, Beth, the grieving mother of the dead girl. Surrounded by these tragedies, Pia views the world as a threat to her hard–earned, peaceful––if lonely––way of life. She leaves the house only once a week; to visit her doctor. One day, on her way there, she stumbles across a hidden antique store and ventures inside. Like Alice, tumbling down the rabbit hole, the store––and its exotic owner––open her up to a whole new existence, one of swirling colors and chaotic feelings, of longing, desire and a new lust for life.
About the Author
Joni Rodgers is the author of the memoir Bald in the Land of Big Hair, and the novels Crazy for Trying and Sugar Land. She lives with her family near Houston, Texas.