"From the author of Summer Hours at the Robbers Library, a tenderhearted story of two very different women whose lives intersect in surprising and endearing ways, perfect for fans of Joanna Goodman, Patry Francis, and Susan Henderson Reeling after her mother's unexpected death, adopted high school senior Melody is left to work through her grief in the midst of school and college applications-and under the shadow of her own future. Suddenly reconsidering everything she once took as certain Melody must piece together the fragments of her once happy family, and the future feels more uncertain than ever before. Meanwhile, Candace is an independent workaholic uninterested in relationships or children. Her quiet life is interrupted, however, when a casual Thanksgiving dinner turns into a rescue mission for a stranger and his dog. Through a tangled web of connections, she becomes acquainted with Melody's father, Eddie, and her once regimented life takes an unexpected turn. Bighearted and deeply relatable, What We Leave Behind grapples with destiny, belonging, and love and makes us question our own idea of family: the kind you're born into and the kind you create"--