Porch Lights, A Novel by Dorothea Benton Frank

Title: Porch Lights: A Novel by Dorothea Benton Frank
Hardcover; William Morrow, released June 12, 2012
Source: publisher

Opening sentences of a book can help the reader get a flavor of the book and decide if it's one that they want to continue reading. Here are the beginning sentences of Porch Lights.

I will tell you the one thing that I have learned about life in my thirty-something years that is an absolute truth: nothing and no one in this entire world matters more to a sane woman than her children. I have one child, my son, Charlie. Charlie is barely ten years old, and he is the reason I get up in the morning. I thank God for him every night before I go to sleep. When I was stationed in Afghanistan, I slept with a T-shirt of his wrapped around my arm. I did. Not my husband's. My son's.  It was the lingering sweet smell of my little boy's skin that got me through the awful nights while rockets were exploding less than a mile away from my post. 

Publisher's book description: When Jimmy McMullen, a fireman with the NYFD, is killed in the line of duty, his wife, Jackie, and ten-year-old son, Charlie, are devastated. Charlie idolized his dad, and now the outgoing, curious boy has become quiet and reserved. Trusting in the healing power of family, Jackie decides to return to her childhood home on Sullivans Island.

Awaiting them is Annie Britt, the family matriarch.  Annie promises to make their visit perfect—even though relations between mother and daughter have never been smooth.  But her estranged husband, Buster, and her best friend Deb are sure to keep Annie in line. She's also got Steven Plofker, the widowed physician next door, to keep her distracted as well.

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