Missing Mom

A daughter's fierce independence unravels in the wake of tragedy, pulling her through grief, hidden family truths, and an unexpected love.

Nikki Eaton, single, thirty-one, sexually liberated, and economically self-supporting, has never particularly thought of herself as a daughter. Yet, following the unexpected loss of her mother, she undergoes a remarkable transformation during a tumultuous year that brings stunning horror, sorrow, illumination, wisdom, and even—from an unexpected source—a nurturing love. Living in Chautauqua Falls, detached and self-reliant, she covers feature stories while drifting through an affair with a married man.

Inside her mother's house, stubborn and clumsy with grief, she struggles with breadcraft recipes and guards the family cat. An unexpected closeness with the homicide detective on the case slowly anchors her world.
Mother-Daughter Relationships: After an unthinkable loss, Nikki must reconstruct the woman she took for granted, discovering the hidden sacrifices and private heartbreaks her mother never revealed.Family Secrets: Sifting through long-kept letters and attic boxes reveals a mother who harbored quiet sorrows long before building her cheerful suburban life.Small Town Drama: Set across the quiet streets of Mt. Ephraim in western New York, where neighborhood scrutiny and suburban facades amplify the shock of sudden tragedy.Also by This Author: Blonde, Carthage and Middle Age: A Romance.