Synopses & Reviews
This heartfelt, witty addition to womens fiction will appeal to fans of Elizabeth Berg and Anna Quindlen.” (Booklist)
Georgia Waltz has things many people only dream of: a plush Manhattan apartment overlooking Central Park, a Hamptons beach house, valuable jewels and art, two bright daughters, and a husband she adores, even after decades of marriage. Its only when Ben suddenly drops dead from a massive coronary while training for the New York City Marathon that Georgia discovers her husbanda successful lawyerhas left them nearly penniless. Their wonderland was built on lies.
As the family attorney scours emptied bank accounts, Georgia must not only look for a way to support her family, she needs to face the revelation that Ben was not the perfect husband he appeared to be, just as her daughtersnow ensconced back at home with secrets of their ownhave to accept that they may not be returning to their lives in Paris and at Stanford subsidized by the Bank of Mom and Dad. As she uncovers hidden resilience, Georgias sudden midlife shift forces her to consider who she is and what she truly values. That Georgia may also find new love in the land of Spanx and stretch marks surprises everyonemost of all, her.
Sally Koslows fourth novel is deftly told through the alternating viewpoints of her remarkable female protagonists as they plumb for the grit required to reinvent their lives. Inspiring, funny, and deeply satisfying, The Widow Waltz explores in a profound way the bonds between mothers and daughters, belligerent siblings, skittish lovers, and bitter rivals as they discover the power of forgiveness, and healing, all while asking, What is family, really?”
Review
“Excellent…. At last, a serious, well-researched book about raising children which also includes that crucial characteristic every parent needs—a sense of humor.” —Deirdre Donahue,
USA Today
“An eye-opener…. Koslow writes wittily about the infantilization of American youth as increasing numbers treat getting a job and moving out as just an option.” —People
“Smart, with plenty of insights and a lively prose style that should keep readers, especially the book's target audience of parents wondering why their grown-up kids are back living in their basements, engaged.” —Booklist
“Koslow casts a keen eye on the 'not-so-empty-nest' phenomenon that besets today's baby boomer parents . . . and provides plenty of food for thought for parents and adultescents who want to understand each other and perhaps change things for the better.” —Publishers Weekly
“This book is hilarious! I burst out laughing on page one, and it just got funnier and funnier. But Slouching Toward Adulthood is also hard-hitting and painfully insightful—I found myself wincing with recognition. Backed by the latest research, Sally Koslow's thought-provoking new book should be required reading for today's parents and young adults.” —Amy Chua, professor of law at Yale University and author of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother
“Full of research, insight, and hilarious examples of what life is like for the long-suffering parents of 'adultescents,' Slouching Toward Adulthood is one of those invaluable books that identifies and illuminates a new phenomenon in our culture.” —Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project
“Sally Koslow has really hit on something with her incisive Slouching Toward Adulthood. Memorable books that struck a chord about the path of life or the dissonance between parent and child—Gail Sheehy's Passages, Nancy Friday's My Mother/My Self—all had a kind of kitchen-table humanity and an ability to limn the unnamed conflicts of a particular moment. Beneath its jaunty two-drinks-with-your-coolest-friend ebullience, this book, as of its moment as those books were of theirs, has that resonance, too.” —Sheila Weller, author of Girls Like Us
“Let go, Sally Koslow exhorts indulgent parents who lovingly enable their adultescents to postpone the rigors and responsibilities of being a grown-up. Koslow's wit and wisdom wake us up to the hidden costs of hanging on too long to our kids, to our youth, and to the past. A great read!” —Maggie Jackson, author of Distracted
“In her trenchant book on twenty-first-century life with our adult children, Sally Koslow offers us wit, awareness, and, most important, a sense that we are not alone. From the first pages, the reader feels right at home, comforted by Koslow's confessions, research, and wisdom.” —Susan Shapiro Barash, author of You’re Grounded Forever . . . But First Let’s Go Shopping
“Sally Koslow has written a funny, shrewd, and true account of a problem the boomer generation didn't know it had created: the consequences of helicopter parenting. We've pampered our kids so much they don't want to grow up. Who can blame them? Slouching Toward Adulthood is the book that explains why 'the guest bedroom' is a thing of the past.” —James Atlas, author of My Life in the Middle Ages
Review
“Pop Quiz: Your beloved husband dies suddenly, leaving you penniless and perplexed. Do you (a) climb into bed until your house is repossessed (b) find another, wealthier man to pick up the tab, or (c) take a deep breath, grab hold of your daughters, and dive into the mess? Because I myself lean toward A, I was charmed and inspired by Georgia Waltz, heroine of
The Widow Waltz, who in the face of calamity, digs deep for answers and discovers her better self in the process. By turns lighthearted and insightful,
The Widow Waltz is a clarion call for any woman who's been disappointed by love: Take a chance! Forgive yourself! Forgive each other! Buy this book!”
—Jillian Medoff, bestselling author of I Couldn't Love You More and Hunger Point
Review
“Sally Koslow takes the economic downturn faced by millions and turns it into a modern-day urban fairytale featuring plucky heroines, wolfish villains, a magic garden and one unlikely knight.
The Widow Waltz tells a story of reinvention with humor, intrigue and just the right touch of mid-life romance.”
—Ann Bauer, author of The Forever Marriage
Review
Praise for The Widow Waltz:
***Chosen by People magazine as a Great Summer Read***
***Chosen by USA Today as a Hot Summer Read***
“Witty and insightful.”
—People magazine (A Great Summer Read Pick)
“Lovers of breezy beach reads . . . will enjoy the journey.”
—Real Simple
"Well-written, page-turning domestic fiction about a familys reinvention and healing that will attract fans of Elizabeth Berg."
—Library Journal
"Wry and funny."
—More magazine (A Summer Book Pick)
"An inspirational piece about rising up to meet challenges, valuing family, and finding independence, inner strength and new perspectives. . . . Those of you looking for a breezy summer book should thoroughly enjoy Koslow's latest effort."
—Book Reporter
“Sally Koslow delivers another winner, a smart and hopeful story of a mother and daughters growing up and starting over—together.”
—Eleanor Brown, author of The Weird Sisters
"I devoured this book."
—Jesse Kornbluth, The Huffington Post
"Entertaining . . . Koslow knows how to please."
—Kirkus Reviews
“Pop Quiz: Your beloved husband dies suddenly, leaving you penniless and perplexed. Do you (a) climb into bed until your house is repossessed (b) find another, wealthier man to pick up the tab, or (c) take a deep breath, grab hold of your daughters, and dive into the mess? Because I myself lean toward (a), I was charmed and inspired by Georgia Waltz, heroine of The Widow Waltz, who in the face of calamity, digs deep for answers and discovers her better self in the process. By turns lighthearted and insightful, The Widow Waltz is a clarion call for any woman who's been disappointed by love: Take a chance! Forgive yourself! Forgive each other! Buy this book!”
—Jillian Medoff, author of Hunger Point and I Couldn't Love You More
"Sally Koslow gives us a portrait of female fortitude and reinvention in her tale of how fifty-something Georgia must start again from 'Go after her luxurious Manhattan life implodes overnight. Reading a Koslow novel is like eating a top-of-the-line gourmet truffle: exquisitely and carefully constructed, ultimately pleasurable—yet there's iron in it, too. Readers of Anne Tyler, Elin Hilderbrand, Cathleen Schine, and Randy Susan Meyers will devour this book as I did."
—Jenna Blum, author of Those Who Save Us and The Stormchasers
“Sally Koslow takes economic downturn . . . and turns it into an urban fairy tale featuring plucky heroines, wolfish villains, a magic garden, and one unlikely knight. The Widow Waltz tells a story of reinvention with humor, intrigue, and just the right touch of mid-life romance.”
—Ann Bauer, author of The Forever Marriage
“Poignant, charming, and funny, The Widow Waltz is a wonderful reminder that we are never too old to grow up. A must-read.” —Julie Buxbaum, author of The Opposite of Love
“With style, wit, and unflinching honesty, Sally Koslow explores the devastating confusion of a woman and her daughters betrayed by their beloved husband and father, who has died suddenly and taken secrets with him, and how these women summon wisdom and power to help one another heal.”
—Erika Robuck, author of Hemingways Girl and Call Me Zelda
"The Widow Waltz is as smart, savvy, and clear-sighted as its heroine, a woman who searches for the truth beneath her dead husband's betrayal. Sally Koslow has written a warm and buoyant story about marriage, motherhood, and second acts."
—Caryn James, author of Glorie and What Caroline Knew
“This heartfelt, witty addition to womens fiction will appeal to fans of Elizabeth Berg and Anna Quindlen.”
—Booklist
Synopsis
?This year?s The Devil Wears Prada? (New York Post)? from a former magazine publishing insider. Inspired by her own experiences behind the scenes, Sally Koslow wryly ?pokes at corporate greed, celeb worship, and the search for Mr. Right? (People)?
At 37, Magnolia Gold (nee Maggie Goldfarb of Fargo, North Dakota) is the youngest editor-inchief ever to wield a red pen at Lady magazine. And with her loyal staff, parties, and Manolos, she no longer feels out of place.
Enter Bebe Blake, loudmouth television personality and Fashion Don?t. To Magnolia?s horror, her boss has not only given her job to Bebe, he?s also turning Lady into Bebe. And Magnolia will be relegated to a roach-infested back office. Now she?ll just have to watch as her beloved mag turns rag. With Bebe all over the cover. In bike shorts?
Synopsis
A witty and insightful report from the parenting trenches by the mother of two "adultescents"
Millions of American parents sit down to dinner every night, wondering why fully grown children are joining them—or, more likely, grunting good-bye as they head out for another night of who knows what. Sally Koslow, a journalist, novelist, and mother of two "adultescents" digs deep to reveal what lies behind the current generation’s unwillingness—or inability—to take flight.
By delving into the latest research and conducting probing interviews with both frustrated parents and their frustrated offspring, Koslow uses humor, insight, and honest self-reflection to give voice to the issues of prolonged dependency. From the adultescent’s relationship to work (or no work), money (that convenient parental ATM), or social life, Slouching Toward Adulthood is a provocative, razor-sharp, but heartfelt cri de coeur for all the parents who sent their kids to college only to have them ricochet home with a diploma in one hand and the DVR remote in the other.
Synopsis
A husband's secret upends a pampered widow's life, from the author of The Late, Lamented Molly Marx Sally Koslow’s fourth novel is deftly told through the alternating viewpoints of her three remarkable female protagonists as they find the grit to survive devastating losses and reinvent their lives. Warm and witty, The Widow Waltz will appeal to readers of Cathleen Schine's The Three Weissmanns of Westport, Hilma Wolitzer, Elizabeth Berg, Anna Quindlen, and J. Courtney Sullivan.
Ben Silver had it all—a successful law practice, a New York apartment overlooking Central Park, a beach house, fine art, club memberships. Yet when a massive coronary fells him while training for the New York City Marathon, it’s revealed that his life was a lie. He’s left his wife, Georgia Waltz, and their two daughters almost penniless.
Georgia must now rally to support her family while mourning a husband whose private enigmas keep surfacing. To her surprise, she also discovers that it may even be possible to find new love in the land of Spanx and wrinkles. Meanwhile, her daughters must face the responsibilities of adulthood that they have avoided and put their hidden talents to work.
Synopsis
Chosen by
People and
USA Today as a Great Summer Read
Georgia Waltz has an enviable life: a plush Manhattan apartment, a Hamptons beach house, two bright twenty-something daughters, and a seemingly perfect marriage. But when Ben dies suddenly, she discovers that her perfect lawyer-husband has left them nearly penniless. As Georgia scrambles to support the family, she and her daughters plumb for the grit required to reinvent their lives, and Georgia even finds that new love is possible in the land of Spanx.
Inspiring, funny, and deeply satisfying, The Widow Waltz is a compulsively readable tale of forgiveness, healing, and the bonds between mothers and daughters.
About the Author
Sally Koslow is a journalist, and an author, and the former editor in chief of both McCall’s and Lifetime. She has written for O, The Oprah Magazine; More; Real Simple; Ladies Home Journal; Good Housekeeping; Reader’s Digest; and Huffington Post. She lives in New York City with her husband; her kids have finally moved out.