Since Joyce Mitchell was widowed five years ago, she's kept herself occupied by running the Sewing Circus, an all-girl group she founded to provide badly needed services to young women at risk, many of whom are single mothers. But some nights, home alone, she has to admit that something is missing. And soon she may not even have the Sewing Circus to fill up her life, as the state legislature has decided not to fund the group.

Feeling defeated

...

Veteran social worker Ellen Moore is a fiercely dedicated children's advocate and a devoted mother and wife. But one blistering summer day, a simple moment of distraction will have repercussions that Ellen could never have imagined, threatening to shatter everything she holds dear, and trapping her between the gears of the system she works for. Meanwhile, ten-year-old Jenny Briard suddenly finds herself on her own, forced to survive with nothing but...

"Linus Baker leads a quiet, solitary life. At forty, he lives in a tiny house with a devious cat and his old records. As a Case Worker at the Department in Charge Of Magical Youth, he spends his days overseeing the well-being of children in government-sanctioned orphanages. When Linus is unexpectedly summoned by Extremely Upper Management he's given a curious and highly classified assignment: travel to Marsyas Island Orphanage, where six dangerous...

"In a season of loss and change, Wren Crawford and Katherine Rhodes share the journey as companions in sorrow and hope. Katherine's final retreat sessions at New Hope but also encounter old and new friends along the way"--

A champion boat racer, Cameron Quinn traveled the world. But when his dying father calls him home to care for Seth, a troubled young boy not unlike Cameron once was, his life changes overnight. In the end, a social worker, as tough as she is beautiful, will decide Seth's fate.

Alice gets off a bus in the middle of a snowstorm in Delphi, NY. She is fleeing an abusive relationship and is desperate to protect Oren -- ten years old, a major Star Wars fan, and wise beyond his years. Mattie is a social worker in her fifties who lives alone in an enormous run-down house in the middle of the woods. She is the person the hotline always calls when they need a late-night pickup. And although according to protocol Mattie should take...

A novel about two sisters, the true meaning of success, and the qualities in life that matter most. It's an otherwise ordinary Monday when Meghan Fitzmaurice's perfect life hits a wall. A household name as the host of the country's highest-rated morning talk show, Meghan cuts to a commercial break--but not before she mutters two forbidden words into her open mike. In an instant, it's the end of an era, not only for Meghan, who is unaccustomed to dealing...