Songs Without Words
by: Ann Packer

Read this book if you are interested in yet another detailed depiction of the lives of quiet desperation playing out in American suburbs. Ann Packer was hailed as a gifted chronicler of the interior lives of women after her debut novel, The Dive From Clausen's Pier (2002). In it, a young woman wrestles with feelings of guilt after her fiance, for whom she has lost all passion after an 8 years and 6 months courtship, becomes a quadriplegic when he breaks his neck in a diving accident. Her second novel, Songs Without Words, has a somewhat less arresting premise, though it still involves life-changing bodily harm. Liz and Sarabeth have been best friends ever since the latter's mother committed suicide while they were in high school. Now in their 40s, they find their relationship shaken to its core after Liz's 15-year-old daughter, Lauren, attempts suicide. In a nutshell, Sarabeth feels awkward and lost as she is not used to providing emotional support. Meanwhile, Liz is hurt, then fed up that Sarabeth still seems to want to be mollycoddled when Liz obviously has greater worries on her mind...

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