For Pandora, cooking is a form of love. But her husband, Fletcher, now spurns her “toxic” dishes and devotes hours each day to manic cycling. Then, when Pandora picks up her brother Edison at the airport, she doesn’t recognize him. In the years since they’ve seen one another, the once slim, hip New York jazz pianist has gained hundreds of pounds. After Edison has more than overstayed his welcome, Fletcher delivers his wife an ultimatum: It’s him or me.

For Pandora, cooking is a form of love. But her husband, Fletcher, now spurns her “toxic” dishes and devotes hours each day to manic cycling. Then, when Pandora picks up her brother Edison at the airport, she doesn’t recognize him. In the years since they’ve seen one another, the once slim, hip New York jazz pianist has gained hundreds of pounds. After Edison has more than overstayed his welcome, Fletcher delivers his wife an ultimatum: It’s him or me.

From the acclaimed author of the National Book Award finalist SO MUCH FOR THAT and the international bestseller WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN comes a striking new novel about siblings, marriage and obesity.

When Pandora picks up her older brother Edison at her local Iowa airport, she literally doesn't recognize him. In the four years since the siblings last saw each other, the once slim, hip New York jazz pianist has gained hundreds of pounds. What happened?

And it's not just the weight. Imposing himself on Pandora's world, Edison breaks her husband Fletcher's handcrafted furniture, makes overkill breakfasts for the family, and entices her stepson not only to forgo college but to drop out of high school.

After the brother-in-law has more than overstayed his welcome, Fletcher delivers his wife an ultimatum: It's him or me. Putting her marriage and adopted family on the line, Pandora chooses her brother --- who, without her support in losing weight, will surely eat himself into an early grave.

Rich with Shriver's distinctive wit and ferocious energy, BIG BROTHER is about fat --- an issue both social and excruciatingly personal. It asks just how much we'll sacrifice to rescue single members of our families, and whether it's ever possible to save loved ones from themselves.

Although he wouldn’t officially be diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome until his freshman year of high school, Josh Hanagarne was six years old when he first began exhibiting symptoms. By the time he was 20, the young Mormon had reached his towering adult height of 6’7” when his Tourette’s tics escalated to nightmarish levels. Despite undergoing treatments that failed miserably, Josh persevered to marry and earn a degree in Library Science.

Although he wouldn’t officially be diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome until his freshman year of high school, Josh Hanagarne was six years old when he first began exhibiting symptoms. By the time he was 20, the young Mormon had reached his towering adult height of 6’7” when his Tourette’s tics escalated to nightmarish levels. Despite undergoing treatments that failed miserably, Josh persevered to marry and earn a degree in Library Science.

Josh Hanagarne couldn’t be invisible if he tried. Although he wouldn’t officially be diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome until his freshman year of high school, Josh was six years old and onstage in a school Thanksgiving play when he first began exhibiting symptoms. By the time he was 20, the young Mormon had reached his towering adult height of 6’7” when --- while serving on a mission for the Church of Latter Day Saints --- his Tourette’s tics escalated to nightmarish levels.

Determined to conquer his affliction, Josh underwent everything from quack remedies to lethargy-inducing drug regimes to Botox injections that paralyzed his vocal cords and left him voiceless for three years. Undeterred, Josh persevered to marry and earn a degree in Library Science. At last, an eccentric, autistic strongman --- and former Air Force Tech Sergeant and guard at an Iraqi prison --- taught Josh how to “throttle” his tics into submission through strength-training.

Today, Josh is a librarian in the main branch of Salt Lake City’s public library and founder of a popular blog about books and weight lifting --- and the proud father of four-year-old Max, who has already started to show his own symptoms of Tourette’s.

THE WORLD'S STRONGEST LIBRARIAN illuminates the mysteries of this little-understood disorder, as well as the very different worlds of strongman training and modern libraries. With humor and candor, this unlikely hero traces his journey to overcome his disability --- and navigate his wavering Mormon faith --- to find love and create a life worth living.

Father Steady Capri knows quite a bit about helping others. But he is afraid Katie Quinn's problems may be beyond his abilities. Katie is a world-famous actress with an all-too-familiar story. Fame seems to have driven her to self-destruct. Steady knows that the true cause of her desire to end her life is buried too deeply for him to reach. However, there is one person who still may be able to save her from herself.

Father Steady Capri knows quite a bit about helping others. But he is afraid Katie Quinn's problems may be beyond his abilities. Katie is a world-famous actress with an all-too-familiar story. Fame seems to have driven her to self-destruct. Steady knows that the true cause of her desire to end her life is buried too deeply for him to reach. However, there is one person who still may be able to save her from herself.

An actress running from her past finds escape with a man hiding from his future. When someone wants to be lost, a home tucked among the Ten Thousand Islands off the Florida coast is a good place to live. A couple decent boats, and a deep knowledge of fishing and a man can get by without ever having to talk to another soul. It's a nice enough existence, until the one person who ties him to the world of the living, the reason he's still among them even if only on the fringes, asks him for help.

Father Steady Capri knows quite a bit about helping others. But he is afraid Katie Quinn's problems may be beyond his abilities. Katie is a world-famous actress with an all too familiar story. Fame seems to have driven her to self-destruct. Steady knows the true cause of her desire to end her life is buried too deeply for him to reach. But there is one person who still may be able to save her from herself.

He will show her an alternate escape, a way to write a new life. But Katie still must confront her past before she can find peace. Ultimately, he will need to leave his secluded home and sacrifice the serenity he's found to help her. From the Florida coast, they will travel to the French countryside where they will discover the unwritten story of both their pasts and their future.

PASTORS’ WIVES follows three women whose lives converge and intertwine at a Southern evangelical megachurch. Ruthie follows her Wall Street husband from New York to Magnolia, a fictional suburb of Atlanta, when he hears a calling to serve at Greenleaf. Candace is Greenleaf’s “First Lady,” a force of nature who’ll stop at nothing to protect her church and her superstar husband. Ginger, married to Candace’s son, struggles to play dutiful wife and mother while burying her calamitous past.

PASTORS’ WIVES follows three women whose lives converge and intertwine at a Southern evangelical megachurch. Ruthie follows her Wall Street husband from New York to Magnolia, a fictional suburb of Atlanta, when he hears a calling to serve at Greenleaf. Candace is Greenleaf’s “First Lady,” a force of nature who’ll stop at nothing to protect her church and her superstar husband. Ginger, married to Candace’s son, struggles to play dutiful wife and mother while burying her calamitous past.

"Riveting, perceptive, and funny. Once you pick up this novel, you won’t be able to put it down."
—Gretchen Rubin, author of THE HAPPINESS PROJECT

Lisa Takeuchi Cullen’s debut novel, PASTORS' WIVES, follows three women whose lives converge and intertwine at a Southern evangelical megachurch. Ruthie follows her Wall Street husband from New York to Magnolia, a fictional suburb of Atlanta, when he hears a calling to serve at a megachurch called Greenleaf. Candace is Greenleaf’s "First Lady," a force of nature who will stop at nothing to protect her church and her superstar husband. Ginger, married to Candace’s son, struggles to play dutiful wife and mother while burying her calamitous past. All their roads collide in one chaotic event that exposes their true selves.

Inspired by Cullen’s reporting as a staff writer for Time magazine, PASTORS' WIVES is a well-drawn portrayal of the private lives of three women caught between the demands of marriage, duty and love.

More Praise for PASTORS' WIVES:

"Hilarious and moving. The characters are so real, I want to friend them on Facebook."
—A.J. Jacobs, author of THE YEAR OF LIVING BIBLICALLY

"With a reporter’s eye for detail and a writer’s heart for the everyday truths we all face...a terrific first novel, fast-paced and fresh, full of sly wit and compassion."
—Laura Zigman, author of ANIMAL HUSBANDRY and PIECE OF WORK

"PASTORS' WIVES is often surprising yet always emotional, set in a world most of us know only from the outside."
—USA Today

Welcome to Mattagash, the last town in the middle of the northern Maine wilderness. Its citizens are fiercely proud, yet this simple town connected by a single one-way bridge is anything but tranquil. While neighbors bicker publicly over trivialities such as offensive mailbox designs and gossip about suspicious newcomers, they privately struggle to navigate deeper issues --- scandals, loss, failed ambitions, the scars of war...and a mysterious dead body in the woods.

Welcome to Mattagash, the last town in the middle of the northern Maine wilderness. Its citizens are fiercely proud, yet this simple town connected by a single one-way bridge is anything but tranquil. While neighbors bicker publicly over trivialities such as offensive mailbox designs and gossip about suspicious newcomers, they privately struggle to navigate deeper issues --- scandals, loss, failed ambitions, the scars of war...and a mysterious dead body in the woods.

In her highly anticipated new novel, acclaimed literary master Cathie Pelletier returns to Mattagash, Maine, the beloved New England town where it all started.

Welcome to Mattagash, the last town in the middle of the northern Maine wilderness. The road dead-ends here, but Mattagash's citizens are fiercely proud.

Yet this simple town connected by a single one-way bridge is anything but tranquil. While neighbors bicker publicly over trivialities such as offensive mailbox designs and gossip about suspicious newcomers, they privately struggle to navigate deeper issues --- scandals, loss, failed ambitions, the scars of war...and a mysterious dead body in the woods.

With her trademark wit and keen eye for detail, Pelletier has assembled an unforgettable cast of endearing and eccentric characters, from scheming mailmen and peeping toms to lovesick waitresses and loggers whose underhandedness belies their ingenuity. The citizens of Mattagash will make you laugh and cheer for them as they stumble into one another's lives and strive to define themselves in a changing world that threatens to leave them behind.

THE ONE-WAY BRIDGE is an extraordinary portrait of family, loneliness and community --- and the kinds of compromises we all make in the name of love.