The Season of Second Chances »

Diane Meier is the author of The New American Wedding and president of Meier, a New York City–based marketing firm. Her career spans from writing and design to public speaking. This is her first novel. Meier lives in New York City and Litchfield, Connecticut.

A world of possibilities opens up for Joy Harkness when she sets out on a journey that’s going to show her the importance of friendship, love, and what makes a house a home

Coming-of-age can happen at any age. Joy Harkness had built a university career and a safe life in New York, protected and insulated from the intrusions and involvements of other people. When offered a position at Amherst College, she impulsively leaves the city, and along with generations of material belongings, she packs her equally heavy emotional baggage. A tumbledown Victorian house proves an unlikely choice for a woman whose family heirlooms have been boxed away for years. Nevertheless, this white elephant becomes the home that changes Joy forever. As the restoration begins to take shape, so does her outlook on life, and the choices she makes over paint chips, wallpaper samples, and floorboards are reflected in her connection to the co-workers who become friends and friendships that deepen. A brilliant, quirky, town fixture of a handyman guides the renovation of the house and sparks Joy’s interest to encourage his personal and professional growth. Amid the half-wanted attention of the campus’s single, middle-aged men, known as “the Coyotes,”and the legitimate dramas of her close-knit community, Joy learns that the key to the affection of family and friends is being worthy of it, and most important, that second chances are waiting to be discovered within us all.

Publishers Weekly

An out-of-touch Columbia professor gets a new lease on life in Meier’s unconvincing debut when she takes on a fixer-upper house and some equally messy relationships. Forty-eight-year-old Joy Harkness loves teaching, but hates the campus politics and her lonely Manhattan life. So when she’s invited to be part of a new program at Amherst College, Joy jumps at the chance and buys a nearly condemnable Victorian with no clue of how much work will be involved in making the house livable. Enter Teddy Hennessy, a younger handyman with a domineering mother. Inevitably, Joy and Teddy date, and Joy fixates on liberating him from his mother and on finding him more prestigious employment. Meanwhile, Joy’s female friendships and their respective crises redefine who Joy is and what she values. Unfortunately, Meier focuses too much on surface matters and has a tough time making Joy come to life; her relationship with Teddy, meanwhile, carries uncomfortable maternal overtones. There are too many cracks in the foundation on this one. (Apr.)