The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D.: A Novel

Summer vacation on the island was supposed to be a restorative time for Kate, who'd lost her close friend Elizabeth in a sudden accident. But when she inherits a trunk of Elizabeth's journals, they reveal a woman far different than the cheerful wife and mother Kate had known. The complicated portrait of Elizabeth—her upbringing, her marriage, and journey to motherhood—makes Kate question not just their friendship, but her most fundamental beliefs about loyalty and deception at a time when she is uncertain in her own marriage. When an unfamiliar man's name appears in the pages, Kate realizes the extent of what she didn't know about her friend—including where she was really going when she died. Set in the anxious post–September 11th summer of 2002, this story of two women—their friendship, their marriages, private ambitions, and fearsconsiders the aspects of ourselves we show and those we conceal, and the repercussions of our choices.