Casual Cruelties

She wants to escape the prison of her marriage—but after decades of mind games, does she have the strength to break free?

Fifty-three, long married, and in the throes of menopause, Laura is dismayed. She’s always tolerated her journalist husband’s belittling insults and manipulation—but at least she got some peace when he was busy at his job. Now he’s working from home, and her life is becoming a nightmare. Laura’s blessed escape comes in the form of book club meetings where her female friends commiserate and joke about raging hormones and rogue chin hairs. She also runs into an ex-boyfriend, and their renewed friendship awakens the spirit and self-confidence she thought was long gone.

But when Laura learns some startling things about her spouse, she begins to think she needs a different kind of life change. But an abuser can be dangerous when deprived of his fun—and just how far is Laura prepared to go to get her life back?