I love Anne Tyler’s books. So far I’ve read Ladder of Years, Digging to America, Breathing Lessons, and now, Back When We Were Grownups.

Rebecca “Beck” Davitch is 53 years old and reflecting on her life and the choices she made. As a young woman she jilted her longtime boyfriend to marry Joe Davitch , a divorced man with three young daughters. They later had one daughter together. Joe died in an accident not many years after they were married and Rebecca raised all four girls by herself. She is now a grandmother several times over. She still runs the family business, aptly named Open Arms, hosting parties in the historic family home. She is the glue that holds the extended family together, stepdaughters Patch, Biddy, and NoNo, daughter MinFoo, assorted sons-in-law, partners, and grandchildren, not to mention brother-in-law Zeb and 100 year-old uncle Poppy, and her own mother and Aunt Ida. Rebecca wonders whether this is the life she was meant to live, looks up her old fiancé, and decides to explore the road not taken. Anne Tyler is brilliant at bringing ordinary people, their foibles and families to life. She made me laugh and also brought nostalgic tears to my eyes in one scene where the family was watching old home movies of past Christmases