When her teenage daughter prefers another family
over her own, a single mother decides to change her life.
Liz Gallagher goes from being a married homeowner and mother
to a studio-apartment-dwelling single mom, all within a few
short weeks. She manages to cope; at least until her daughter
Emma's school burns down. At first, Liz is delighted when
Emma transfers to a college prep high school on a full scholarship.
But then Emma’s new best friend Alex pulls her into
a life of shopping sprees, ski trips, and Ivy League aspirations.
Liz can’t compete, and she wonders if she should even
try, considering her own straightened circumstances. When
the Chambers ask Emma to move out of her mother’s studio
apartment and into their San Francisco mansion, Liz fears
she may lose her daughter completely.
Sleeping on the Couch (83,000 words/mainstream
fiction) offers an intimate portrait of a woman grappling
with her daughter's beckoning future and her own changing
self-identity as a newly single woman. Told mainly from Liz’s
perspective, Goldy Chambers (Alex’s mother) and Ravenna
Moss (Liz’s boss) also add their voices to the dilemma
facing Liz: what do mothers owe their daughters? Themes of
place, privilege, and self-worth are explored through the
realities of real estate, educational opportunities, and what
mothers and daughters really want.
