The Life of Helen Alone

by Karen Lawrence

Helen's life, her life alone in the city, was simple, satisfying enough, and entirely safe.

Then she fell in love with Daniel and moved with him to his farm, to his life bustling with gardens and animals and seasons and... three children who resented her.

And, quite suddenly, this independent woman of the city had to confront the meaning of family, of the ties that draw us together, of the fears that keep us apart.

Genres: Fiction

293 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 12, 1986

Reviews

[PEN Center USA · Rating 5 out of 5]

1987 PEN Center USA Award Winner for First Novel

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quiet, slow book about a woman who falls in love with Dan, a farmer who is raising his three children alone. His wife left because she couldn't handle the harshness of farm-life. Helen comes to love the farm and the kids. Her younger brother shows up. He's a drifter and things don't go well. Dan has affairs with other women; his kids like Helen but don't take her seriously because they suspect she's temporary. It could have used better editing but it was good.

[Boargenes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, readable i love it

[Sonja · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much better after getting past the beginning.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A woman lives with a divorced man and his three children who resent her.