Almost Like Praying

Dolores Farrell grew up in Sherborn, Massachusetts, with a firm idea of how her life would unfold. She expected a husband in law, sons who would join the bar, and daughters who would champion the arts, all within sight of Harvard and in keeping with her proud Irish-Catholic heritage. Life takes her elsewhere. She becomes a homemaker on Long Island, married to a salesman, and watches her children choose paths she never pictured: a daughter who hosts a provocative radio talk show, a son who is a New York City police officer with a heavy drinking habit, and another son, a caustic cartoonist who lost a leg in a serious accident in childhood.

Across the street, a boy from Dolores's old neighborhood has grown into an accomplished journalist. One day he sees something he never expected from her: she is hugging a six-year-old olive-skinned girl, and she is smiling. It is not an expression he would have associated with her.

The book is made of three distinct stories. One follows the journalist as he explores the family's roots in Massachusetts and Long Island. Another examines the troubled early adulthood of the eldest son. The last focuses on the unusual relationship between Dolores and the little girl.