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About A Piece of Normal (Unabridged)

“Quite wonderful... Like Anne Tyler, Shelton seems to possess a nearly boundless capacity for empathy. She has the ability to make us love her characters for their faults, not in spite of them.” ( Connecticut Post ) Warmhearted, insightful, funny, and poignant, best-selling author Maddie Dawson takes the unfathomable ways of love and family, and celebrates [the joys of] the ordinary craziness of being human. “You know what people really need? Somebody who will listen hard and then find a way to tell them, ‘It’s not all your fault. It’s going to work out fine. Don’t give up.’” So advice columnist ‘Dear Lily’ Brown deeply believes. But Lily could write a letter to herself, asking what to do about an ex-husband who still wants her dating advice, how to redecorate the family home she’s kept exactly the same since her parents died tragically young, and how to move on with her strangely becalmed life…And oh, yes, what to do when your wild-child estranged sister storms back into town, blowing your nicely arranged life into disarray. “As her protagonist tries to learn that she cannot and does not have to control everyone around her and tries to enjoy the "fun" of a dysfunctional family life, Dawson delves into family relationships with humor and empathy, making this a pleasurable read.” ( Booklist ) “Shelton’s greatest talent is a gift for juxtaposing comedy and tragedy to the pulsing beat of the modern-day mating dance.” ( BookPage )