Saints and Swimmers

A marriage shattered by a confession.

Jewish parents meddling from the afterlife.

The man she was always meant to meet, years too late.

Then again... what if love was never hers to choose?

Elaine Goldstein thought she understood her marriage-until her husband, Allen, confessed the unthinkable. Twenty devoted years, gone in a single sentence. Unable to shake the feeling she'd derailed her own life, Elaine returns to Rome-to the version of herself she left so long ago, back when she still believed in soul mates and hadn't yet learned to settle.

While sobbing at Raphael's tomb, Elaine finds unexpected comfort in Francesco, an Italian who smells like sugar cookies and whose quiet kindness hides a lifetime of guilt, honor, and a complicated relationship with God. As friendship gives way to undeniable chemistry, Elaine begins to wonder how many reasonable compromises it takes before a life no longer feels like your own.

But Elaine isn't the only one convinced there is still time.

As the perfume of summer basil drifts from every doorway and ancient cobblestones slow her steps, Elaine has no idea her recently deceased parents, Myra and Ira Jacobs, are along for the ride. They've discovered that love doesn't end with death-it simply finds new, and occasionally exasperating, ways to make itself known.

Myra believes love means stepping in, dragging Allen-that schmuck, newly enlightened and desperate to make amends-from Palm Springs to Rome for one more chance, for God's sake, before Elaine makes the second biggest mistake of her life and runs away with Mr. Hot and Holy. Ira, now that he's dead, discovers that thwarting Myra can be surprisingly satisfying.

But some lives only make sense in the places where we first stopped pretending-and everyone, her parents most of all, is certain they know what Elaine's life should be. With more than one heart now at risk, Elaine faces a choice that demands more honesty than she's ever had to give-and more restraint than she ever imagined possible. No one has the right to choose another person's destiny. That terrifying privilege is ours alone.

A Jewish family comedy.

An Italian love story.

A touch of magical realism.

Heartbreaking. Hopeful. Unexpectedly funny.