It All Comes Down to This by Therese Anne Fowler

The Geller Sisters—Beck (44), Claire (40), and Sophie (36)—are orphans, having just lost their mother, Marti. But that’s not where the grieving ends. Marti made a video for the girls in which she reveals shocking truths about her life, leading the sisters to question the truths of their own lives. And Marti’s will gives strict instructions on the disposal of the family cabin on Mount Desert Island off the coast of Maine: it is to be updated and sold within a defined period of time, and the proceeds are to be split equally between the sisters.

The three, separated by geography and age, are forced together not only for the funeral but also for a weekend at the cabin where they struggle to accept Marti’s history and to figure out their own futures. Beck is a freelance long-form article writer who can’t bear the blandness of her marriage and craves an opportunity to write the novel she’s been shoving aside for years. Claire, a thriving pediatric surgeon in Duluth, is recovering from a divorce she triggered by a confession to her husband that her heart belongs to a man that she can’t have. Sophie is a high-profile Instagram personality, a rep for a trendy art gallery, and a glamorous global jetsetter whose life is quietly spiraling out of control. Enter the affable C. J. Reynolds, an artist with his own layered past, who is determined to make Mount Desert Island his home.

With a sympathetic hand, Fowler has written a story that will resonate with readers for its humanity and goodness. From family matters to discovering how to facilitate one’s best life, the core of the novel is rooted in the difficulties families face when it comes to cooperation and acceptance. The Geller Sisters are tasked with balancing longing and regret; questioning the status quo of relationships; and resolving the irritating “what ifs” we feel at different times in our own lives. Sure, there’s plenty of angst, doubt, and lies, but there also is an equal amount of humor, tenderness, and compassion. There is no way you can resist falling for the characters that live in this book.