Synopsis
When Claire Raphael begins to earn more than her husband, he charges her with neglect of family and sues for divorce, requesting sole child custody and alimony. Although she supported him while he built his career and she cared for the children, she knows that the courts are unsympathetic to successful women. With the help of her business partner, Brody Parth, Claire finds the strength and love to face the biggest battle of her life.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 1998-02-01 |
| Size | | Length: | 405 pages | | Height: | 7.0 in | | Width: | 4.3 in | | Thickness: | 1.5 in | | Weight: | 7.2 oz |
Publisher's Note
"New York Times" bestselling author Barbara Delinsky presents what could be her most stunning book yet. "In the spirit of "Kramer vs. Kramer", sociologist Delinsky's new novel explores the drama and pain unleashed when affluent parents battle for the hearts, minds, and custody of their kids".--"Publishers Weekly".
Everything Claire Raphael has she's earned. On her own. The hard way. She built her part-time business up from nothing and made it successful through her imagination, creativity and hard work. She has two great children and Dennis, a husband she loves completely. Then, one evening, when Claire returns from a difficult business trip, Dennis hands her divorce papers along with a court order to vacate their house. And he's taking custody of the children. Claire is devestated. She had no idea her marriage was on the brink of disaster, that Dennis had been planning this ambush for weeks, if not months or that her hectic but happy life was about to come crumbling down around her. Claire doesn't know where to turn or whom to trust. But in a few short weeks she learns what so many women have had to discover -- that when the going gets tough, a woman's as tough as she needs to be..
Industry Reviews
Delinsky (Shades of Grace, LJ 1/96), the author of over 60 novels, has another winner: a woman's story of a marriage gone sour, seasoned with betrayal, disloyalty, unhappiness, and greed. Clair Raphael has a less-than-admirable spouse, yet she is doing her best to be a superwoman, catering to her beloved children and husband and in her spare time building a $20 million business called WickerWise. Returning home from a visit to her dying mother, she finds her children at her in-laws and is presented with a court order to vacate the house and to stay away from the children. Dennis wants a divorce, the house, full custody of the children, a hefty alimony, and half of the business. Add a chauvinistic judge and a biased family court adviser to the mix, and the result is fast and furious reading to see what happens next. Go for it. Dawn L. Anderson, North Richland Hills P.L., Tex.
Ives
In the spirit of Kramer vs. Kramer, sociologist Delinsky's new novel (after The Passions of Chelsea Kane) explores the drama and pain unleashed when affluent parents battle for the hearts, minds and custody of their kids. The twist here is that an overachieving mother risks losing custody and having to pay alimony to an underachieving father. Successful businesswoman Claire Raphael returns home to Gloucester, Mass., from Cleveland, where she was visiting her ailing mother, Connie, only to find that she has been served with an Order to Vacate her house on the grounds that she is not a responsible mother. Husband Dennis relentlessly pursues divorce, custody of the children and substantial alimony that would include a hefty cut of Claire's franchised furniture business, WickerWise. As the two square off, Claire seeks comfort in the arms of business partner Brody, and Dennis with lawyer Phoebe. The kids muddle through, Johnny battling cynicism, Kikit allergy attacks. With a subplot about sister Rona emerging from Connie's shadow, the story heads inevitably toward the legal decision about custody. Along the way, the intricacies of this type of case are illuminated. With the threat of a chauvinistic judge's decision looming, Claire gropes towards an understanding of her disintegrating marriage. Delinsky writes a gushy prose peopled with expected, albeit sometimes role-reversed, characters that undermine her novel's literary value. As a dramatization of the legal problems faced by some modern women, however, her story is notable and likely to garner attention. (Mar.)
Lopate
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