Single, unfulfilled, and well into middle age, Charlotte Lansing desperately seeks love and acceptance. When she announces her engagement to an unemployed morphine addict, her family is thrown into turmoil. Her mother tries to prevent disaster, her father tries to bridge the divide, and her sister clings to the hope that their bond will protect Charlotte. But Charlotte has finally found happiness, and she resists their efforts even as she disappears into her new husband’s addiction.
As Charlotte’s family grapples with the storm her choices unleash, Hello Wife lays bare the fragility of love, the strength of sisterhood, and the invisible scars of the opioid crisis. Darkly funny, achingly real, and unexpectedly hopeful, this unforgettable novel pulses with emotion and humanity on every page.
With razor-sharp insight and tender prose, Friedman invites readers into the life of a woman determined to hold onto happiness, despite all of the consequences. And, in this case, the consequences are dire.