I Like You Just Fine When You're Not Around

Tig Monahan--responsible, people-pleaser extraordinaire--is being pulled in many directions. The 30-something relationship psychologist, named after Tiger Lily from Peter Pan, is grappling with guilt ever since she was forced to give up the care of her mother, Hallie, and admit her into a nursing home for patients with advanced dementia. Tig's fit, triathlete beau invites her to join him for a sabbatical in Hawaii, only to suddenly disinvite her at the 11th hour. Her prodigal older sister, "wild and winsome" Wendy--always her mother's favorite--suddenly re-emerges after a two-year disappearance, pregnant and alone.

One day, resentful, annoyed and exhausted, Tig snaps and lashes out at a husband and wife, patients she'd been counseling in couples' therapy. Tig's outburst leads to new beginnings that include the loss of her job, a lawsuit and an invitation to host Is That Fair?, an edgy, tell-it-like-it-is psychologist-driven radio call-in program. Amid the changes that throttle Tig's life, she suddenly discovers a chest of old letters and trinkets in her mother's belongings. When secrets are revealed, Tig is forced to examine her own life, wondering why she's been unable to set boundaries that would keep her from helping people to the extent that she often hurts herself.

Ann Garvin, as in her other novels (On Maggie's Watch, The Dog Year), presents a thought-provoking story that deals with loss and upheaval in a humorous way, making otherwise difficult subject matter not only accessible to readers but entertaining as well. --Kathleen Gerard, blogger at Reading Between the Lines

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