When it happens to you, you will be surprised. That thing they say about how you knew all the time, but just weren’t facing it? That might be the case, but nevertheless, there you will be.
Molly Ringwald mines the complexities of modern relationships in this gripping and nuanced collection of interlinked stories. Writing with a deep compassion for human imperfection, Ringwald follows a Los Angeles family and their friends and neighbors while they negotiate the hazardous terrain of everyday life—revealing the deceptions, heartbreak, and vulnerability familiar to us all.
In “The Harvest Moon,” a stay-at-home mom grapples with age, infertility, and an increasingly distant husband. In “Ursa Minor,” a former children’s television star tries to rebuild his life after being hospitalized for “exhaustion.” An elderly woman mourns the loss of her husband and her estranged relationship with her daughter in “The Little One.” In “My Olivia,” a single mother finds untapped reserves of strength to protect her flamboyant six-year-old son who wishes only to wear dresses and be addressed as Olivia. And in the devastating title story, a betrayed wife chronicles her pain and alienation, leading to an eviscerating denouement.
As the lives of these characters converge and diverge in unexpected ways, Ringwald reveals a startling eye for the universality of loss, love, and the search for connection. An unflinching yet poignant examination of the intricacies of the human heart, When It Happens to You is an auspicious literary debut.
About Molly Ringwald
Molly Ringwald began her film career at the age of thirteen with her Golden Globe-nominated performance in The Tempest. Her extensive film credits include The Pick-Up Artist, For Keeps, Fresh Horses, Betsy’s Wedding, Billy Bob Thornton’s short film Some People Call It a Sling Blade, and the now iconic coming-of-age movies Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles, and The Breakfast Club. On stage, Molly has starred in the Broadway production of Cabaret, the Tony-nominated Broadway production of Enchanted April, and the Bob Fosse musical Sweet Charity. Molly can currently be seen starring in the breakout hit The Secret Life of the American Teenager on ABC Family. She lives with her husband and three children in Los Angles, CA, and Getting the Pretty Back is her first book.
Editorial Review
Ringwald’s (Getting the Pretty Back, 2010) debut novel employs a series of interlaced stories with a constellation of characters at different stages of life facing varied obstacles (many self-created) in the path of love. Among the characters fumbling to understand their own behavior and bewildered by the consequences of their actions is Greta. She and Phillip have built a secure, happy marriage, one that helps her endure the indignities of a third round of fertility injections and the difficulties of raising their energetic 6-year-old daughter, Charlotte. When Phillip confesses he has cheated on her with Theresa, Charlotte’s 19-year-old violin teacher, Greta is staggered. She returns to her mother, Ilsa, who faces her own challenges in love, including her plan to take in Greta’s drug-addicted nephew, Milo—Milo, who is so difficult that his own mother has run away to join a New-Age yoga practice. Ilsa challenges Greta: Doesn’t everyone deserve a second chance? But Greta cannot forgive Phillip. As she tries to repair her life, Greta embarks on a relationship with the much younger Peter. Estranged from Greta, Phillip forges a friendship with Marina, whose son, Oliver, is a friend of Charlotte’s. Oliver, however, likes to dress up in Charlotte’s clothes, which leads to his being attacked by older boys. Ringwald deftly weaves together the threads of these stories, creating a tapestry that captures the emotional landscape of both young and well-worn relationships. Amid the dust of that landscape lies a sort of letter to Theresa, a letter that exposes the myriad emotions swirling in the aftermath of a betrayed love. – Kirkus Reviews
Book Review: ‘When It Happens to You,’ by Molly Ringwald
The Washington Post Book Review – August 13, 2012 (Excerpt)
What happens to teenage angst when the teenager outgrows it? Maybe it withers, becoming just a memory of those self-absorbed years when the world was against you. Or perhaps angst all grown up manifests itself as betrayal, the gut-wrenching feeling after a loved one reveals he’s been playing against you.
Molly Ringwald knows both feelings well. In her first novel, “When It Happens to You,” this queen of 1980s teenage angst (“Sixteen Candles,” “The Breakfast Club,” “Pretty in Pink”) puts betrayal center stage. And she does it in a way that’s as visceral as a girl’s disgust when everyone forgets her 16th birthday.
Only this time, the stakes are higher, as Ringwald tackles questions such as: Can a marriage overcome infidelity? What does it mean to love a child unconditionally? And how do you move on when a loved one dies? [Read the full article...]
Leaning Toward the Light: Molly Ringwald Talks About Her New Novel
The New York Times Book Review – August 15, 2012 (Excerpt)
Molly Ringwald became a star for her roles in a beloved triumvirate of mid-’80s teenage movies: “Sixteen Candles,” “The Breakfast Club” and “Pretty in Pink.” Now 44, she continues to act and is also focused on a career as an author. In 2010, she published “Getting the Pretty Back.” She called that effort “a kind of entertaining, anecdotal style guide.” Her new book is “When It Happens to You,” a novel told in stories centered around Phillip and Greta, a couple whose marriage is foundering. In a recent e-mail interview, Ms. Ringwald discussed the appeal of flawed characters, advice she got from Bret Easton Ellis and more. Below are edited excerpts from the conversation… [Read the full article...]
A Novel Endeavor From Molly Ringwald
NPR Book Review – August 18, 2012 (Excerpt)
Most people know Molly Ringwald from her star turns in John Hughes’ signature teen comic dramas from the 1980s, including Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink.
And Ringwald is still acting — she currently plays the mother in the ABC Family series The Secret Life of the American Teenager. But she’s also turned her hand to writing. Her new book — and first novel — is called When It Happens to You.
It’s a novel written in interlocking short stories: Philip cheats on his wife, Greta, with their daughter Charlotte’s music tutor. Charlotte then becomes a sticking point when her now-single mother gets a young boyfriend. She also befriends a cross-dressing little boy across the street, and an elderly neighbor who is estranged from her own daughter until an accident brings them into each other’s orbit. Throughout the book, the characters spin around the plot, sometimes touching, often not, but always exerting a tug on each other.
Ringwald tells NPR’s Scott Simon that acting has been an influence on her work; even at the heart of her teen stardom, she was writing. “I have a lot of interest in character and what makes us tick,” she says. She also draws on her real-life family to develop that peculiarly unique language that families often share. “It’s just a language you hear all the time, it’s almost like music that I’m able to recall when I write.” [Read the full article...]
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THE BLEEDING HILLS
A Novel by Wilfried F. Voss
I have fought a good fight,
I have finished my course,
I have kept the faith.
- 2 Timothy iv. 7
The Irish War is officially a part of history, but not for Finnean Whelan, an IRA veteran of almost 40 years. British Intelligence has produced evidence that he is the mastermind behind a conspiracy to assassinate the First Minister of Northern Ireland. For Whelan this is not only a mission of revenge, but marks the beginning of a journey into the past and the return to the one true love: Ireland. [More...]
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