THE UNDERSIDE OF JOY

Book ID/图书代码： 14289010B42917

English Summary/英文概要： A perfect book for readers of Anna Quindlen（安娜．昆德蘭）, Sue Miller（蘇‧米勒）and Lolly Winston（蘿莉．溫斯頓）, The Underside of Joy explores what it means to be a mother and the lengths we will go to in order to protect the people we love most.

To Ella Beene, happiness is living in the Northern California river town of Elbow with her husband, Joe, and his two young children. For three years, Ella has been the only mother the kids have known. But when Joe drowns off the coast, his ex-wife shows up at his funeral, intent on reclaiming the children. Ella must fight to prove they should remain with her while she struggles to save the family’s market. With wit and determination, she delves beneath the surface of her marriage, finally asking the questions she most fears, the answers jeopardizing everything and everyone she most loves.

Rather than the fairy tale version of step-motherhood that pits good against evil, The Underside of Joy explores a complex relationship between two women who both consider themselves to be the children’s mother. Their conflict uncovers a map of scars -- physical and emotional -- to their families’ deeply buried tragedies, including Italian internment camps during WWII and postpartum depression and psychosis.

Chinese Summary/中文概要： 何謂真正母親的角色？她能為了保護自己所愛的人做出多大的付出…

對於Ella Beene來說，和丈夫Joe、孩子們居住在一起的日子，絕對是人生中最快樂的時光。孩子雖非親生，但Ella視他們為己出。因此她也是孩子們唯一認識的「母親」，但這看似和樂的畫面，自Joe過世後開始起了變化。
Joe的前妻意外地出現在葬禮上，並要求取回孩子們的監護權。Ella努力證明孩子屬於自己的同時，還要挽救家族事業…她用盡心思和決心，逐漸探索出婚姻底下更深層的意義，最後卻也遇見自己最害怕的問題，或許最後的答案可能使她傷害一切所愛的人事物…
本書主角不同於我們常見的繼母角色，書中也並未建立所謂善與惡的對抗，作者只是試圖藉由這兩位女性的故事，描繪出所謂親情及母親的角色，但也意外地揭露家族意圖深埋於過往的傷痛…(Vincent)

Awards/获奖情况：Rights sold:
Italy, Spain, and Germany under offer

“The writing in The Underside of Joy is as purely beautiful as the story is emotionally complex. When Ella Beene is wrenched from a state of unexamined happiness into confusion and grief, she finds that her only hope of emerging whole is to face searing and long-buried truths. Ella embarks on a difficult journey, both morally and materially, one that requires her to risk losing everything she most loves. I cheered (sometimes through tears) her every step.”---Marisa de los Santos(The Author of Love Walked In)

About the Author/作者介绍： Seré Prince Halverson is a mother and stepmother to four children. She lives in Northern California with her family.Seré Prince Halverson is a mother and stepmother to four children. She lives in Northern California with her family.
Seré Prince Halverson，扮演四個孩子的母親與繼母的角色。現與全家人定居於北加州。

Format:电子手稿

Rights Status/版权销售情况：Simplified Chinese/简体中文：AVAILABLE

Complex/Traditional Chinese/繁体中文：AVAILABLE(到期可授)

Sales in other countries/其他国家销售情况：

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