I'm not sure if this is 3.5 or 4 stars. There was so much about the book that I liked, but the overall book had some issues.

I liked hearing the stories of each of the 4 main characters. I think that four of them was too many, both because none of the stories got the full treatment it deserved, and because that seemed like a few too many crises at the same time.

I never felt I had a grip on the problems that sent Anna home, away from the life she'd always imagined, from the potential partnership she'd been working so hard for.

As she returns home, she meets up with her former best friend, who flees from a crisis in her new life, and falls into a crisis (that's been building for years) with her father.

Anna's mother has a handful of secrets-- She's losing her home and her business due to new development turning her area upscale; she's having health problems and can't afford her medication; her husband that abandoned the family and has been missing for over 20 years is suddenly back in touch.

And so on-- this web expands to include a network of crises for her aunt, another high school friend, her high school boyfriend, his brother, and more.

Each of these stories is interesting, and is well written as far as it goes. In some cases, the problems are inter-related, and the timing is not coincidence. Others seemed forced, and like the author was trying too hard.

This may be a pet peeve, but I wish that there had been one couple with a happy, stable relationship. Even if they'd been dealing with family issues, financial issues, child issues, friendship issues, body issues (all of these are in the book somewhere), it would have been nice to have one stable marriage.