Suddenly

“Delinsky knows the human heart and its immense capacity to love and to believe.” —Washington Observer-Reporter From the New York Times bestselling author of More Than Friends comes an emotionally charged novel that reflects upon the consequences of one irrevocable act. In the idyllic small town of Tucker, Vermont, life flows at a rhythmic pace for pediatrician Paige Pfeiffer. But when Mara O'Neill, her best friend and medical partner, inexplicably kills herself, Paige's comfortable life is suddenly shattered. Temporarily caring for Mara's newly adopted baby daughter while she comes to grips with her grief, Paige clings to the hope that, in time, her orderly life will return. What she hadn't counted on were the unexpected pleasures that often come with change, including the touch of a man who offers Paige things she never thought she wanted. She hadn't counted on finding the meaning of life in the death of a friend. For everyone who has ever made a choice between what is and what could be, Barbara Delinsky unveils a truly moving gift from the heart that captures one woman's story and ultimately speaks to us all. When pediatrician Mara O'Neill is found drugged with Valium and dead of carbon monoxide poisoning--an apparent suicide--it sets off crises in the lives of the three pediatricians who were in practice with her in a small Vermont town. For Angie Bigelow, dealing with Mara's death becomes the final straw in the disintegration of her once-well-organized--and ostensibly happy--home and marriage. Peter Grace, whose involvement with Mara was more complex than he admits publicly, must resolve a sense of discontent rooted in his youth. Paige Pfeiffer, who was Mara's friend since college, copes with her deep sense of loss by caring for the infant from India that Mara had arranged to adopt. Paige's life is further complicated by the attentions of Noah Perrine, acting head of the posh but troubled private school where Paige coaches girls' athletics In the idyllic small town of Tucker, Vermont, life flows at a rhythmic pace for thirty-nine-year-old pediatrician Paige Pfeiffer. But when Mara O'Neill, Paige's best friend and medical partner, inexplicably commits suicide, Paige's comfortable world is shattered. Temporarily caring for Mara's newly adopted baby daughter while she comes to grips with her grief, Paige clings to hope that, in time, she'll understand why Mara chose to end her life, and Paige's own orderly life will return. But just when Paige is at her darkest moment, fate steps in. Noah Perrine, acting head of the private school where Paige coaches girls' athletics, enters her life and fills her days with unexpected hope. But before Paige can allow herself to embrace a future she never imagined, she must let go of the past and learn to trust her newfound happiness. When her best friend and medical partner, Mara O'Neill, kills herself, small-town pediatrician Paige Pfeiffer takes in Mara's newly adopted infant daughter while dealing with her loss. At the depths of her grief, the acting head of the private school where Paige coaches girls' athletics begins to fill her days with unexpected hope When her best friend and medical partner, Mara O'Neill, kills herself, small-town pediatrician Paige Pfeiffer takes in Mara's newly adopted daughter and discovers the unexpected pleasures of motherhood PAIGE PFEIFFER RAN AT THE FRONT OF THE pack, setting a pace that a less bold thirty-nine-year-old might not dare, but she had a point to prove and a bet to win.