Heart of the Matter

Giffin excels at creating complex characters and stories that ask us to explore what we really want from our lives.--Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionTessa Russo is the mother of two young children and the wife of a renowned pediatric surgeon. Despite her own mothers warnings, Tessa has recently given up her career to focus on her family and the pursuit of domestic happiness. From the outside, she seems destined to live a charmed life. Valerie Anderson is an attorney and single mother to six-year-old Charlie--a boy who has never known his father. After too many disappointments, she has given up on romance--and even to some degree, friendships--believing that it is always safer not to expect too much.Although both women live in the same Boston suburb, the two have relatively little in common aside from a fierce love for their children.