When the writer Lucy Barton has to spend a long time in the hospital, she receives a visit from her mother, whom she hasn't seen in years. At first, she is overjoyed. However, as she listens to her mother's voice telling stories about people from their hometown, while mother and daughter seem to form a new bond, memories resurface that she thought she had long left behind. Elizabeth Strout's novel is a psychological masterpiece, deeply human and moving. It tells the story of a woman who, despite all adversities, forges her own path, a story about mothers and daughters, and a story about love, which, no matter how great, can only ever be imperfect.