Ann Hood

Ava s twenty-five-year marriage has fallen apart, and her two grown children are pursuing their own lives outside of the country. Ava joins a book group, not only for her love of reading but also out of sheer desperation for companionship. The group s goal throughout the year is for each member to present the book that matters most to them. Ava rediscovers a mysterious book from her childhood one that helped her through the traumas of the untimely deaths of her sister and mother. Alternating with Ava s story is that of her troubled daughter Maggie, who, living in Paris, descends into a destructive relationship with an older man. Ava s mission to find that book and its enigmatic author takes her on a quest that unravels the secrets of her past and offers her and Maggie the chance to remake their lives."

The Book That Matters Most

An entertaining and fascinating memoir of "gifted storyteller" (People) Ann Hood's adventurous years as a TWA flight attendant.

A Memoir

Fly Girl

An obituary writer searching for her missing lover at the turn of the twentieth century is linked to a woman considering leaving her loveless marriage in 1963 in this literary mystery from the best-selling author of The Red Thread. 35,000 first printing.

The Obituary Writer: A Novel

"An intelligent, moving read" (Pages) and "a testament to women’s friendship and to Ann Hood’s talent" (Hilma Wolitzer). After the loss of her only child, Mary Baxter finds herself unable to read or write, the activities that used to be her primary source of comfort. She reluctantly joins a knitting circle as a way to fill her lonely days—not knowing it will change her life. As they teach Mary new knitting techniques, the women in the circle also reveal their own secrets of loss, love, and hope. With time, Mary is finally able to tell her own story of grief, and in so doing finds the spark of life again.

The Knitting Circle: A Novel

A memoir about the magic and inspiration of books from a beloved and best-selling author.

Growing Up with Books

Morningstar

Four friends from the 1960s--Suzanne, Claudia, Elizabeth, and Howard--discover that, in the 1980s, their lives have taken some unexpected and complicated turns. Reprint.

Somewhere Off the Coast of Maine: A Novel

New York Times best-selling author Ann Hood pens a poignant story of grief and resilience, perfect for readers of The Thing About Jellyfish. A testament to the power of human connection." --Jack Cheng, award-winning author of See You in the Cosmos Katie was Jude's favorite person in the world. And not many brothers say that about their sister and mean it. But to Jude, Katie was everything--the person who made him learn how to say I love you in every language, who performed dramatic readings of Romeo and Juliet, who obsessed over every item on the diner menu looking for the most authentic diner meal. The one who called him Jude Banks, Superhero, because to her, Jude was the best. She was also the person who died. Out of nowhere, and without a goodbye. And Jude believes he was the one who killed her. Now, twelve-year-old Jude must figure out what life looks like without his favorite person. With Mom checked out, and Dad just trying to do his best, Jude enters a world of grief youth groups and dropped-off lasagnas. It's only when he meets a girl named Clementine, who also lost a sibling, that he begins to imagine a world where maybe things might be okay. But Clementine is also feeling a terrible guilt, and even though Katie called Jude a superhero, he isn't sure he can save her. In her signature prose, Hood crafts an extraordinary story of grief and resilience, asking the important question: How does a family begin to heal?

Jude Banks, Superhero

"Filled with love, hope, and longing, this is a novel for readers of all ages." - Holly Goldberg Sloan Bestselling author Ann Hood crafts a funny, heartfelt story of a girl growing up in the heart of Beatlemania. The year is 1966. The Vietnam War rages overseas, the Beatles have catapulted into stardom, and twelve-year-old Rhode Island native Trudy Mixer is not thrilled with life. Her best friend, Michelle, has decided to become a cheerleader, everyone at school is now calling her Gertrude (her hated real name), and the gem of her middle school career, the Beatles fan club, has dwindled down to only three other members--the least popular kids at school. And at home, her workaholic father has become even more distant. Determined to regain her social status and prove herself to her father, Trudy looks toward the biggest thing happening worldwide: the Beatles. She is set on seeing them in Boston during their final world tour--and meeting her beloved Paul McCartney. So on a hot August day, unknown to their families, Trudy and crew set off on their journey, each of them with soaring hopes for what lies ahead. In her signature prose, Hood crafts an extraordinary story of growing up, making unexpected connections, and following your dreams even as the world in front of you--and the world at large--is changing too fast.

She Loves You (Yeah, Yeah, Yeah)

In this warm collection of personal essays and recipes, best-selling author Ann Hood "connects food with memory in delicious ways" (Jane Ciabattari, BBC).

Notes on Life, Love, and Food

Kitchen Yarns

The author of The Knitting Circle documents her family's journey of grief after the sudden death of her five-year-old daughter after a virulent illness, a process during which she learned how to knit and experienced comfort in unexpected ways.

A Journey Through Grief

Comfort

From her Italian American childhood through singlehood, raising and feeding a growing family, divorce, and a new marriage to food writer Michael Ruhlman, Ann Hood has long appreciated the power of a good meal. Growing up, she tasted love in her grandmother's tomato sauce and dreamed of her mother's special-occasion Fancy Lady Sandwiches. Later, the kitchen became the heart of Hood's own home. She cooked pork roast to warm her first apartment, used two cups of dried basil for her first attempt at making pesto, taught her children how to make their favorite potatoes, found hope in her daughter's omelet after a divorce, and fell in love again--with both her husband and his foolproof chicken stock.Hood tracks her lifelong journey in the kitchen with twenty-seven heartfelt essays, each accompanied by a recipe (or a few). In "Carbonara Quest," searching for the perfect spaghetti helped her cope with lonely nights as a flight attendant. In the award-winning essay "The Golden Silver Palate," she recounts the history of her fail-safe dinner party recipe for Chicken Marbella--and how it did fail her when she was falling in love. Hood's simple, comforting recipes also include her mother's famous meatballs, hearty Italian Beef Stew, classic Indiana Fried Chicken, the perfect grilled cheese, and a deliciously summery peach pie.With Hood's signature humor and tenderness, Kitchen Yarns spills tales of loss and starting from scratch, family love and feasts with friends, and how the perfect meal is one that tastes like home.

The author of "The Knitting Circle" documents her family's journey of grief after the sudden death of her five-year-old daughter, a process during which she learned how to knit and experienced comfort in unexpected ways.

Comfort: A Journey Through Grief

Writers on Knitting

Knitting Yarns

A Novel

The Knitting Circle

The author of Somewhere Off the Coast of Maine and Ruby presents a collection of short works that explores the surreal qualities of everyday events, from a pregnant woman's obsession with cooking after being left by her husband, to a young alcoholic's seduction of her priest, to a teen's observation of her mother's romance. Reprint. 15,000 first printing.

Stories

An Ornithologist's Guide to Life

This novel begins in 1969, and as Peter, Paul and Mary croon on the radio and poster paints are splashing the latest anti-war slogans. Suzanne, a poet, lives in a Maine beach house awaiting the birth of a love child she will name Sparrow. Claudia, who weds a farmer during college, plans to raise three strong sons. And Elizabeth and Howard marry, organize protest marches, and try to raise their two children with their own earthy, hippie values. By 1985, things have changed. Suzanne, now with a M.B.A., has taken to calling Sparrow "Susan." After personal tragedy, Claudia spirals backward into her sixties world—and into madness. And Elizabeth, fatally ill, watches despairingly as her children yearn for a split-level house and a gleaming station wagon. In this beloved, critically acclaimed first novel, Hood's clear, brave, and penetrating voice captures the spirit of three friends struggling to resolve their lives in a complicated time warp called lost youth.

Somewhere Off the Coast of Maine

An Italian immigrant watches her six children grow up while she searches for her seventh, the product of a love affair who was given up for adoption. By the best-selling author of The Obituary Writer. 50,000 first printing.

An Italian Wife

After the loss of her daughter in a freak accident, Maya Lange opens an adoption agency to place baby girls from China with American families and discovers the painful and courageous journeys of both adoptive parents and birth mothers.

The Red Thread

This collection of essays from over twenty different authors, including Elizabeth Berg, Ann Patchett, Andre Dubus III and Sue Grafton, describes their passion for knitting, recalling their triumphs and disasters in their craft projects and lives. 30,000 first printing.

Knitting Yarns: Writers on Knitting

In this unique book, Ann Hood will help you find fresh, creative images, words and gestures to evoke feelings in your fiction. In 36 "mini-lessons," Hood sheds new light on love, hate, fear, grief, guilt, hope, jealousy and other major emotions. Each lesson offers instruction on rendering that particular sentiment; "good" and "bad" examples illustrating how writers have succeeded and where others have gone wrong; and imaginative exercises for putting the feeling into words.

Ann Hood

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