Decades

“The songs we sang, the clothes we wore, the way we made love. Absolutely perfect!” —Publisher’s Weekly


Spanning the years from the optimistic post-War 1940s to the Mad Men 1950s and rule-breaking “Make Love, Not War” 1960s, DECADES is about three generations of women who must confront the radical changes and upended expectations of the turbulent decades in which they lived.


Evelyn, talented but insecure, is a traditional woman of the Forties. She is a loyal and loving wife and mother whose marriage and family mean everything to her.

Nick, handsome and ambitious, a chameleon who changes with the changing times, is her successful but restless husband.

Joy, their daughter, confused and defiant, a child of the Sixties, needs them both but is torn between them.

Barbara is the other woman, younger than Evelyn, accomplished but alone. She is a transitional woman of the Fifties who wonders if she can have everything--including another woman's husband.


Sweeping in scope yet intimate in detail, DECADES is the emotional, compelling story of family, marriage, crisis, betrayal and healing.


“A brilliant book. Three generations of women are succinctly capsuled in this novel by a writer who has all the intellect of Mary McCarthy, all the insight of Joan Didion. Rarely have attitudes been so probingly examined—tough, trenchant, chic and ultra-sophisticated, Ms. Harris recreates the decades in which her heroines lived, from zoot suits and Sammy Kaye, through Eisenhower, Elvis and poodle-cut hairdos to moon walks, Mick Jagger and micro-minis. Readers will be entertained and few will be able to forget what Decades has to say about men and women and the games people play.” —Fort Worth Star-Telegram


“A terrific novel about a singular single girl.” —Cosmopolitan


“Ruth Harris has re-created both the style and substance of three decades of American life—from the bobby socks and innocence of the 1940s, to the crinolines and caution of the 1950s, to the bra-less T-shirts and alienation of the 1960s.” —Book-of-the-Month Club


“Powerful. A gripping novel that depicts the lives and loves of three generations of women.” —Women Today Book Club


“I read Decades straight through at one sitting and the more I think about that, the more impressive the novel seems.” —Houston Post