For Doris, the mother in the Senter family, the daily tasks of life in mid-nineteenth-century rural Maine, such as making the bed, are expressions of goodness: the beneficence of life. When tragedy strikes, Doris can't cope, and daughter Dodie, who narrates the story along with her father, assumes much of the responsibilities for daily life. Not only will you reread passages, even whole chapters, relishing Meredith Hall's evocative writing, but you may also stop to wipe tears from your eyes more than once. You will empathize with these good, but imperfect, people as you fly through the pages of this exquisite novel.