In the Family Way

'An emotional and consuming read. I read from start to finish in one sitting'

'Uplifting and beautifully written'

'Desperate Housewives meets Mad Men in this touching story of motherhood, girlhood, and what really happens behind closed doors in suburban America'

'An essential read'

'I love this book!'

*****

A warm, uplifting and empowering novel following a group of suburban housewives and the pregnant teenager they welcome into their fold as they find their place on the cusp of liberation. For fans of Lessons in Chemistry or The Help.

*****

Ohio, 1965. Every week a group of suburban housewives meet for their Tuesday card game, sharing gossip, advice and confidences.

Lily Berg has the perfect life. She’s married to a doctor, with an infant daughter and another on the way. She can’t let her husband know she’s struggling but she knows she can trust her friends. Becca, Lily’s best friend and next-door neighbour, is everything Lily isn’t. She’s messy and brash and never on time for anything. When she falls pregnant with a fourth child she desperately can’t afford, she turns to Lily. Although Lily’s little sister, Rose, got married last year, she’s not ready to give up her independence. Her modern marriage appears to be perfect, but behind closed doors things are very different. And Betsy is fifteen, pregnant and frightened. When Lily takes her in, from the local home for unwed mothers, she has no idea how much it will shake up all of their lives.

Over six months, the group will be put to the test by secrets, forced to make impossible decisions and face up to a society that isn’t ready for women to have their own dreams and ambitions.

Set against the backdrop of 1960s America, In the Family Way is a timely novel that captures the experiences of women on the cusp of liberation as they grapple with timeless questions of womanhood and the role we play as wives, mothers, and people in our own right.

*****

'Bursts with complexity, drama and warmth… A timely, timeless novel' Catherine Newman, author of Sandwich

'A powerful tale, well told… [with] a delightful cast of characters that you can't help but fall in love with' Fiona Davis, author of The Stolen Queen

'A poignant, rich, deeply textured tale of women, friendship and struggles amid 1960s suburbia on the precipice of change' Lisa Barr, author of Woman on Fire

'Delightful and inspiring' Meg Waite Clayton, author of The Postmistress of Paris

'The women in these pages – feisty, fierce, and fragile – offer a peek behind the curtain of the precariousness of women's rights and womanhood itself' Christine Pride, co-author of We Are Not Like Them

‘A warm, uplifting and empowering novel…ideal if you’re a fan of Lessons in Chemistry.’ Belfast Telegraph

‘Uplifting … A warm tale of friendship’ Platinum

Laney Katz Becker is an award-winning author and writer. Her debut novel, Dear Stranger, Dearest Friend was a Literary Guild alternate selection, recommended by Library Journal, selected by Redbook Magazine as Editors’ Favorite Pick for Fall, a Traditions Book Club selection and featured on CBS’ Saturday Early Show. Laney is also the author of the non-fiction anthology, Three Times Chai, a collection of rabbis’ favorite stories. Her writing career also includes working as an award-winning advertising copywriter, freelance journalist and, most recently, for more than a decade, as a literary agent. When she’s not writing, Laney enjoys drawing, sewing, reading, playing tennis, long walks (while listening to podcasts or audio books) and playing canasta. Laney is a graduate of Northwestern University, raised her two kids in Westchester County, NY, and currently lives on the east coast of Florida with her husband and their Havanese.