(A wry, wise new novel of Southern dreams and second chances.

On the morning of her birthday, Vonda Thayer awakes from her American Dream to realize she's living a domestic nightmare. She plays happy homemaker to two whiny, self-absorbed teenagers, a ranting, divorced monster-in-law, and her knocked-up oldest daughter, who's just moved home to escape a deadbeat boyfriend. In her free time, Vonda stalks her no-good husband and his bimbo du jour. And now her ailing, cantankerous father-in- law?the monster's very estranged ex?needs a nursemaid and a place to recover. Vonda seriously needs to replace that white picket fence with barbed wire.

When a hurricane rips through north Florida, it threatens to tear her already fragile family completely apart. It's up to Vonda to help them weather the storm and learn a few survival instincts in the process. The sun's going down on this desperate housewife, and dawn's breaking on a new, improved Vonda Thayer?

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