A Las Vegas showgirl, a diner waitress, and a heartbroken alcoholic—three sisters—are called into an obligatory reunion in California’s Central Valley in the late 1990s as a prelude to their mother’s impending death.
Inside Diego’s Diner on Highway 99, Lorraine, the eldest of the sisters, attempts to convert the truckers and regional farmers to her religious beliefs while managing the counters and booths. Becky, the youngest, lurches into this scene after a night’s drunken romp. Meanwhile, middle sister Julie is en route on a bus from Las Vegas, where she’s just ended a long career as a Riviera showgirl. Overshadowing the longstanding tensions between the three women is the unexplained disappearance of the sisters’ long-absent father from their lives.
Julie is reluctant to return to River’s End, but she makes a valiant attempt to jump-start her life again once she gets there, even as she confronts the loss of the beauty she’s long used to mask her insecurities and failed relationships. Meanwhile, Becky struggles to stay sober and out of jail—and Lorraine throws herself into cheating her sisters out of their inheritance.
Industry Reviews
2023 Sarton Awards Shortlist: Contemporary Fiction
"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 and The Revolution of Marina M
“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
“Dian Greenwood’s About the Carleton Sisters explores the complexities of family in a timeless tale of rivalry, jealousy and, ultimately, grace. Compelling, heartbreaking, and reaffirming, this novel burns with truth.”
—Suzy Vitello, author of Faultland
“Dian Greenwood’s intricately wrought tale of the family secrets and discarded dreams that divide the Carleton Sisters brilliantly explores how even the smallest internal shift can begin an inexorable process of change. About the Carleton Sisters is as unflinchingly truthful as it is generous, funny, and expertly wrought, exploring the dangerous terrain of generational trauma through the lives of three unforgettable women. Both gritty and hopeful, this novel stayed with me long past the final chapter. I’m eagerly anticipating Greenwood’s future work!”
—Michelle Ruiz Keil, author of All of Us with Wings
“About the Carleton Sisters, Dian Greenwood’s masterful debut novel, propels the reader forward with the drive of a train through California’s Central Valley. Set in the fictitious town of River’s End, the sisters gather around their dying mother in a mobile home full of secrets. A family long riven by betrayal and private resentments, they are locked in a struggle for connection and redemption.”
—Joanna Rose, author of A Small Crowd of Strangers
“Dian Greenwood’s debut novel, About the Carleton Sisters, hits one out of the ballpark with its depiction of three strong-willed sisters coming together to rally around their mother in her final days. Greenwood gives us a world rich in detail, honest in emotion and struggle, and multilayered in the complexities of reckoning with one’s family of origin.”
—Leslie Johansen Nack, author of The Blue Butterfly
“Dian Greenwood’s debut novel shines a bright light into the shadowy corners of an unforgettable Central California family. Incisive, raw, and achingly beautiful.”
—Laura Stanfill, author of Singing Lessons for the Stylish Canary
“Three sisters, multiple secrets—each telling her own st
