Product Description Emma thought that she was finally going to get to start living her life, not that she regretted the last twenty-three years. Her choice to raise her son on her own had been an easy one to make, but as any parent can tell you, having a child means sacrifice. Working two (sometimes three) jobs, shopping thrift stores, and spending weekends clapping at Little League tournaments are all fine memories, but Emma had never really had a life of her own. Wrenching herself out of one bad relationship only to fall into another, romance had not been on her radar for quite a while. Suddenly, it seemed, she looked up and she was forty-something, the parent of an adult, self-sufficient young man away at university, and her life was all her own. Now what? Young enough to start fresh, old enough, hopefully, to know which mistakes to avoid. Being alone didn't have to mean being lonely, and she was fine with that. What she didn't count on was the way fate can throw a twist into the best laid plans in the form of dark strangers, dilapidated, old houses, and deadly diseases. If she thought the first half of her life had been the rough, her limits were about to be tested. She would also discover how true love can heal what may seem broken. About the Author J. Gawlik has taught for over 25 years. She put herself and her son through college, working multiple jobs most of the time. The most important accomplishment in her life, however, has been parenting. She regards good parenting, especially single parenting, as courageous, requiring dedication and selflessness, saying, When a child is grown, a parent crosses their heart. Though she strives for stability, her life hasn't always had that. Her son was diagnosed with bone cancer at age 15, affecting them both dramatically. Gawlik says, "It's not knowing what your fate will be that's so draining from one day to the next, month after month. So, to lead a 'boring' life, knowing that, at least for now, the ones I love are safe and reasonably happy . . . that's a good life in my book (pun intended)."