false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166697324m/16060.jpg 16060 4 With humor, wisdom and tenderness, Ann Packer offers ten short stories about women and men--wives and husbands, sisters and brothers, daughters, sons, mothers, fathers, friends, and lovers--who discover that life's greatest surprises may be found in that which is most familiar.<br><br>In the title story, on the anniversary of their father's suicide a young woman discovers that her brother may have found a "reason for living" in the love of a good woman.  In "Nerves," a young man realizes that the wife he is separated from no longer loves him but that it is his own life he misses, not her.  The narrator of "My Mother's Yellow Dress" is a gay man remembering his deceased mother and their vital and troubling intimacy.  In "Babies"--which was included in the prestigious O. Henry anthology series --a single woman in her mid-thirties finds that everyone, including her best friend at work, is pregnant, and that their joy can only be observed, not shared.  In these and six other stories, Ann Packer exhibits an unerring eye for the small ways in which people reveal themselves and for the moments in which lives may be transformed. 17844 1994 Mendocino and Other Stories total:209|5:27|4:71|3:92|2:17|1:2| 209 731 298 31 4 0 false false Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2003 Sun Jan 25 17:56:43 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 25 18:04:55 -0800 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Thu Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Fri Jan 16 11:17:46 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 16 11:18:13 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Apr 27 09:55:14 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 28 15:08:05 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Apr 27 13:31:42 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 27 13:32:25 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sat May 26 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Dec 10 08:31:45 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 10 08:32:42 -0800 2008 0 0 false false Wed Sep 02 18:02:54 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 02 18:02:54 -0700 2009 4 0 false true Mon May 08 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Sat Mar 29 20:52:04 -0700 2008 Sat Mar 29 20:58:04 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 29 12:59:12 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 14 08:23:10 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Tue Mar 25 08:50:14 -0700 2008 Tue Mar 25 08:50:14 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed May 30 13:48:24 -0700 2007 Wed May 30 13:48:24 -0700 2007 5 0 false false Sun Jul 27 16:14:45 -0700 2008 Sun Jul 27 16:14:45 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Sep 25 16:37:26 -0700 2007 Tue Sep 25 16:39:18 -0700 2007 4 0 false false Tue Nov 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Sat Mar 15 20:10:04 -0700 2008 Sat Mar 15 20:39:46 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sat Dec 08 16:19:52 -0800 2007 Sat Dec 29 16:20:42 -0800 2007 2 0 false false Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue May 13 11:35:24 -0700 2008 Wed May 21 04:47:10 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Thu Jun 26 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Aug 25 16:12:13 -0700 2007 Thu Jun 26 13:00:11 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Feb 20 09:21:23 -0800 2008 Thu Feb 21 11:34:47 -0800 2008 3 0 false false Tue Aug 05 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 07 11:57:00 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 05 18:20:35 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Thu Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2005 Fri Jun 13 18:31:38 -0700 2008 Fri Jun 13 18:33:50 -0700 2008 0 0 true false Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Feb 03 13:33:09 -0800 2008 Sun Feb 03 13:36:18 -0800 2008 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=16060