Sweet Vidalia

She made herself see Robert with the kids, telling stories of crafty, talking rabbits and determined turtles, his face bright with meanings, with silliness. Made herself see the two of them laughing together in bed, they had done that. That was true. Through the years, they''d had happiness and closeness. They had. As Eliza sits at her husband''s funeral, still stunned by the suddenness of his death, she discovers a lie that turns her life upside down. But Eliza has a core of resourceful steel that does not let her down and an innate emotional generosity that she struggles to cling to when faced with an almost overwhelming sense of bitterness. What emerges is a profoundly compelling portrait of a woman worn down by life to a gem stone quality of endurance and beauty. Love, loss and family secrets can overwhelm us at any point in our lives, but Eliza refuses to give in...

Auteur
Lisa Sandlin graduated from Rice University in Houston, and earned an MFA in Writing at Vermont College. She taught at CMU, SMU, Wayne State College, University of Texas, Kadir Has University in Istanbul, Turkey, and she finished her career as professor emerita at the University of Nebraska Omaha. Sandlin has written four story collections and four novels, and her work has received an NEA Fellowship, a Dobie Paisano Fellowship, a Pushcart Prize, the Violet Crown Award, and the Jesse Jones Award. Sandlin's noir mystery The Do-Right won both the Shamus Award and the Hammett Prize. Marilyn Stasio of the New York Times chose its sequel, the Edgar-nominated The Bird Boys, as one of the 10 best crime books of 2019. Lisa lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Résumé

For readers of Elizabeth Strout and Anne Tyler, a life-affirming novel about marriage, friendship and the powerful dignity of a woman forced to rebuild her life - unexpectedly and alone - in 1960s Texas.

She made herself see Robert with the kids, telling stories of crafty, talking rabbits and determined turtles, his face bright with meanings, with silliness. Made herself see the two of them laughing together in bed, they had done that. That was true. Through the years, they'd had happiness and closeness. They had.

As Eliza sits at her husband's funeral, still stunned by the suddenness of his death, she discovers a lie that turns her life upside down. Almost overwhelmed by the dawning understanding that she has known nothing true about her life, Eliza can't see a way forward at first. How should she come to terms with all that has been a lie? How can she live with herself?

But Eliza has a core of resourceful steel that does not let her down and an innate emotional generosity that she clings to, faced with an almost overwhelming sense of bitterness. Signing up to business classes so she can make a living, she moves into a hotel, The Sweet Vidalia, filled with people facing their own challenges.

As she gathers new friends and new possibilities open up before her, Eliza finds it isn't so simple to leave the past behind....