Now 94 and living a quiet life, Cecily Larson, when her family surprises her with an at-home DNA test, finds the unexpected results not only bringing to light the tragic love story she's kept hidden for decades but also calls into question everything about the family she's raised and claimed as her own.

"A huge-hearted, redemptive coming-of-old-age tale, a love story, and an ode to good food. Nothing could be more out of character, but after fifty-nine years of marriage, as her husband Bernard's health declines, and her friends' lives become focused on their grandchildren--which Jenny never had--Jenny decides she wants a little something for herself. So she secretly applies to be a contestant on the prime-time TV show Britain Bakes. Whisked into...

Cecilia Lapthorne always vowed she'd never go back to Dune Cottage. So no one is more surprised than Cecilia to find herself escaping her own seventieth birthday party to return to the remote but beautiful cottage on Cape Cod--a place filled with memories. Some are good--especially memories of the early days with her husband, volatile artist Cameron, before his fame eclipsed their marriage. But then there are the memories she has revealed to no one....

"Meet the heroine everyone's talking about. . . Fiercely resilient and impeccably dressed, Veronica McCreedy has lived an incredible 87 years. Most of them alone, in her huge house by the sea. But Veronica has recently discovered a late-life love for family and friendship, adventure and wildlife. More specifically, a love for penguins! And so when she's invited to co-present a wildlife documentary, far away in the southern hemisphere, she jumps at...

Sixty-year-old Jane Hunter, forced into early retirement from her job as a university librarian, is seeking a new challenge to keep her spirits up and supplement her meager pension. But as she's about to discover, a retiree's life can bring new thrills--and new dangers. Cameron "Cam" Clewe, an eccentric 33-year-old collector, is also seeking something--an archivist to inventory his ever-expanding compendium of rare books and artifacts. Jane's thrilled...

A wealthy widow, 74-year-old Venetia Hargreaves declares her independence, first with a makeover, then by adopting a dog and then by buying the Phoenix Ballroom to revive one meaningful thing from her past, finding a supportive and loving community of lost souls who become a multigenerational family-by-choice.

"Rattled by fears that she is losing her keys, her looks, her job, and her sweetheart, Gail, 62, rashly announces that she will go to Paris, a dream postponed for 40 years. So begins the journey through France of an optimistic, infinitely curious, 62-year-old woman, who seeks to ransom her self-confidence and learn how to age. Deftly weaving scenic description with sketches of feisty Frenchwomen and flashbacks of older women she has admired, Gail...

"Her husband's cheating on her. She hates Boca. Sylvia is mad and she isn't going to take it anymore. She's moving back north, to the city of her dreams--with her best friend, Evie, in tow. Think a screwball comedy featuring a sophisticated Thelma and Louise with martinis in hand . . . When sixty-three-year-old Sylvia finds her husband in bed with the floozy of their Boca retirement community, she's shocked and furious . . . at first. By the time...

Most days, Magda is fine. She has her anxious therapy patients, who depend on her to cure their bad habits, and her longtime colleagues Boomer and Theo, whose playful bickering she mediates. She successfully avoids all discussion of her upcoming 70th birthday and has even brokered a tentative truce with her late best friend Sara's widower, Fred. Magda has her routines. She has other people's lives to fix. She's fine. But when Fred gifts her Sara's...

"The old lady has a plan. Friends can build a big snowman"-- Back cover.