I probably read this when it first came out (1994) and just reread. Not quite as I remembered it but just as enjoyable. The story is of the Gulden family, Kate (mother), George (father), Ellen (daughter) and two sons, Jeff and Brian. Always Ellen has admired her English professor father and tried to live up to his standards. Her relationship with her mother has been rather dismissive, as Kate is a “homemaker.” When Kate develops cancer, Ellen is asked by her father to leave her NY life as a journalist and come home to take care of her. Not what Ellen wants to do!
Thus begins the tarnishing of George and the realization that Kate is much more than a homemaker. There’s a lot going on in this book. It is one of the most descriptive stories of the ravages of cancer I have ever read. Plus Kate dies of an overdose of morphine and Ellen is accused of aiding her death. Or was it that dastardly George? Or Kate herself?