About the Carleton Sisters

By Dian Greenwood

Debut author Dian Greenwood delves into the messy midlife years of three
sisters—a Las Vegas showgirl, a diner waitress, and a heartbroken alcoholic.
They reunite in California’s Central Valley during their mother’s final
days. Lorraine, the responsible and religious eldest, thinks she deserves to
inherit everything, but Becky and Julie arrive with expectations of their
own. Overshadowing the longstanding tensions between the three women
is the unexplained disappearance of their long-absent father. Set in the late
1990s, About the Carleton Sisters seethes with jealousy and deception while
examining the fault lines within an unlived life.

ADVANCE PRAISE

“Midlife is the grand subject of Dian Greenwood’s psychologically acute novel About the Carleton Sisters, exploring the paths of three very different women coming together at a critical moment, just as they’ve reached the endpoint of their youth’s decisions. I loved the texture of their lives, the small California
agricultural town, and found myself identifying with each sister’s plight, the fundamental human difficulty of releasing outworn choices in the face of an unknown future. A soulful, poignant debut.” —Janet Fitch, author of White Oleander

“A tough and heartfelt look at the generational trauma of three central California sisters. Mired in secrets both past and present and haunted by a vanished father and a broken mother, these three sisters try to navigate middle-age and each other. A terrific debut novel by an author to keep an eye on.” —Willy Vlautin, author of The Night Always Comes

“In turns tender and wise, About the Carleton Sisters is an exploration of sisterly love. Dian Greenwood writes into the heart of sibling bonds, telling a story of three sisters in their mother’s final days. These characters are complex, real, and dealing with transgressions that might break them apart—or bring them together. This is a touching, tender book that will appeal to readers of all ages.”—Rene Denfeld, author of The Child Finder