Praise for Abbi Waxman and
The Garden of Small Beginnings
“Abbi Waxman is both irreverent and thoughtful.”
—#1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Giffin
“Brilliant. Simply brilliant. The Garden of Small Beginnings is funny, poignant, and startling in its emotional intensity and in its ability to make the reader laugh and cry on the same page . . . I loved this book!”
—Karen White, New York Times bestselling author of the Tradd Street Novels
“If you’re looking for a summer beach read with meat, this might well be your book . . . Waxman develops and explores the characters and their relationship in depth . . . with moments of humorous writing.”
—The Washington Post
“This is my favorite kind of book—hilarious, sad, joyful. Beautifully written. Fun. I dare you not to enjoy it.”
—Julia Claiborne Johnson, author of Be Frank With Me
“What a treat!! Abbi Waxman is one of the wittiest voices in the world today. The Garden of Small Beginnings is a beautiful book full of humor, heart, and deep insight. An intimate and hilarious journey about a young mom moving on from grief. Reading it gave me the feeling I was talking to a really funny, open mom-friend sharing secrets about life, love, loss, and gardening! Abbi Waxman’s quick wit and heart shine brightly throughout this debut novel. I just loved it!”
—Molly Shannon, actress
“Funny and poignant. Guaranteed to make you laugh and cry. May make you want to play in dirt and grow a new life of your own.”
—Wendy Wax, USA Today bestselling author of One Good Thing
“Waxman’s skill at characterization . . . lifts this novel far above being just another ‘widow finds love’ story. Clearly an observer, Waxman has mastered the fine art of dialogue as well. Characters ring true right down to Lilian’s two daughters, who often steal the show. This debut begs for an encore from Waxman.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Waxman takes readers from tears to laughter in this depiction of one woman’s attempt to hold it all together for everyone else only to learn it’s OK to put herself first.”
—Booklist
“Kudos to debut author Waxman for creating an endearing and realistic cast of main and supporting characters (including the children). Her narrative and dialog are drenched with spring showers of witty and irreverent humor, which provides much respite from the underlying grief theme.”
—Library Journal (starred review)
“The Garden of Small Beginnings is a quirky, funny, and deeply thoughtful book . . . We’re already dying to know if there will be a sequel.”
—HelloGiggles
“Waxman’s voice is witty, emotional, and often profound.”
—InStyle.com (U.K.)
“This novel is filled with characters you’ll love and wish you lived next door to in real life.”
—Bustle
“Sorrow is usually an occasion for sobs instead of laughter, but Waxman manages to wring many funny and poignant moments from a sober situation.”
—Augusta Chronicle
“Lilian Girvan, the central character of The Garden of Small Beginnings, is an illustrator, a mother, a sister, a budding gardener, and a widow, and her perspective on how she’s doing with each role doesn’t always match up with what readers can see around her. But that trait makes her a more interesting and realistic protagonist, and along with the book’s humor and eccentric supporting cast made it a great read.”
—BookRiot
“Abbi Waxman artfully tackles grief with humor in her debut novel.”
—Signature Reads
“It’s impossible not to fall in love with Lilian, a young widow who is still trying to come to terms with the death of her husband four years later . . . If you are thinking to yourself, ‘Forget it, I’m not reading a gardening book,’ don’t worry . . . THIS IS NOT A GARDENING BOOK! It is, however, a feel-good, hate-to-put-it-down kind of book!”
—Chick Lit Central
Berkley titles by Abbi Waxman
THE GARDEN OF SMALL BEGINNINGS
OTHER PEOPLE’S HOUSES
BERKLEY
An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014
Copyright © 2018 by Dorset Square, LLC
Penguin Random House supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin Random House to continue to publish books for every reader.
BERKLEY is a registered trademark and the B colophon is a trademark of Penguin Random House LLC.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Waxman, Abbi, author.
Title: Other people’s houses / Abbi Waxman.
Description: First edition. | New York : Berkley, 2018.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017046915| ISBN 9780399587924 (softcover) |
ISBN 9780399587931 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Interpersonal relations—Fiction. | Married people—Fiction.| Adultery—Fiction. | Domestic fiction. | BISAC: FICTION / Contemporary Women. | FICTION / Family Life. | FICTION / Humorous. | GSAFD: Humorous fiction.
Classification: LCC PS3623.A8936 O85 2018 | DDC 813/.6—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017046915
First Edition: April 2018
Cover art: house by 3dts/GettyImages; bicycle by yattaa/GettyImages; blanket by PlusONE/Shutterstock; cat by oksana2010/Shutterstock
Cover design by Vikki Chu
Interior art: wooden fence © Krivosheev Vitaly/Shutterstock.com; neighborhood map by Julia Waxman
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Version_1
To my three daughters: Julia, Charlotte, and Kate. May your lives be free of drama, unless it’s really entertaining.
And to the children of my neighborhood: Eve, Hannah, Millie, Louis, Avery, Truman, Little Charlotte, Henry, Chela, Sofia, Stella, Nolan, Olivia, Rosetta, Juliette, Ruby Fern, and Nerys. Without you it would be just another place to live.
Acknowledgments
I’d like to thank everyone at LPQ, Larchmont, and The Hatchery, who give me endless cups of coffee and a place to work: Wilder, Kacy, Vanessa, Carter, Amy, Maria, and Talia. If I’ve forgotten your name, it’s not because I don’t appreciate you, it’s because I’m an idiot.
I’d like to thank my editor, Kate Seaver, who says positive, constructive things about my work then deftly suggests changes that improve it immeasurably.
I’d also like to thank Margalo Chellas Goldbach, a lovely, intelligent, and highly creative child, who provided the original version of one of the more impressive tantrums in the book, and
