A tender and perceptive novel about three generations of an Irish American family jarred into crisis by an unexpected pregnancy--by the bestselling author of Hello Beautiful
No one in my mother's family ever talks about anything that can be categorized as unpleasant or as having to do with emotions and, as a result, they no longer have anything to say. So reflects Gracie, as she worries about how her large Catholic family will receive the news that she is unmarried and pregnant. Told through six-points of view-including Gracie's, her mother Kelly's, and her grandmother Catharine's-Within Arm's Reach is a rich and deeply affecting narrative quilt, indelibly capturing how our individual choices are woven into the fabric of our families. As Gracie grapples with her pregnancy, Kelly wrestles with her own disappointments, realizing that she's spent her life surrounded by and caring for people who have never truly known her. Meanwhile, Catharine, the tough-as-nails matriarch of the McLaughlin clan, struggles to satisfy the promises she's made to both the living and the dead. As all of the McLaughlins respond to the unplanned and profound change in Gracie's life, they come to see that they cannot outrun their memories and there will be no future without a confrontation of the past. This spellbinding novel by bestselling author Ann Napolitano-a writer beloved for her ability to "chronicle life's highs and lows with aching precision" (The Washington Post)-is a poignant reminder of how connected we are to those we love, how much more we inherit than wills decree, and how the ghosts of our ancestors walk by our sides every day.