Ms. Chen does an excellent job of keeping two storylines, the Project and the Father, going at the same time. At times running on parallel tracks, these two elements converge beautifully to relate a lush tale of reality, fantasy, grief and fleeting moments of happiness. …more Having gone through similar challenges and sorrows, I can say confidently that the author portrays the experience of them transparently and with brutal honesty. This book will touch and satisfy the former or current caregiver who really does care. Having a Project in the author's sense of the term truly does preserve your sanity and keeps you alive to complete "It," whatever the It may be. (less)

This book about love lost in the form of rejection and subsequent divorce is a timely and compassionate approach to heartbreak. I think most every adult alive, male or female, divorced or not, can identify with being told to take a hike and the effects this has on them …more mentally, physically and spiritually. Having been both a bookseller as well as a library assistant, I can truthfully say that this book belongs as a welcome addition to any professional or personal shelf. The author not only deftly steers us through the shoals of her own breakup, she also helps us to see the why and how of relationship toxicity and the way we may most quickly and efficiently recover from such devastation. Her honesty concerning her own mistakes and misgivings is refreshing and encouraging. Read this book to learn how to become functional and whole again following a bad breakup. (less)

Tessa, an American scholar, begins her academic career at Oxford unaware of the dangerous games she's playing with Chris, her brilliantly flawed British mentor. While at first she has the cushion of Chris's wife Diana and her lover Ben to keep them safely apart, both Ben's …more and Diana's sudden departures wreak havoc in the form of obsessed and unrequited love. For anyone ever delving into literary academia, Tessa's and Chris's story leaves the reader fascinated yet terrified. Within the background of ancient history and archeological digs, their thoroughly modern relationship will seem both familiar and odd as professor and student circle around each other, one cunning and the other innocent, only to shockingly do an about-face. Anyone intrigued with dead languages, ancient mysteries and the workings of overwrought minds will find this one of their new favorite reads. (less)