The Best We Could Hope For

A Novel

by Nicola Kraus

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Pub Date May 06 2025 | Archive Date May 20 2025

Little A

General Fiction (Adult) | Literary Fiction

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Description

From a #1 New York Times bestselling author comes a powerful novel about family, the weight of secrets, the choices we make, and the repercussions of the decisions made for us.

When Bunny Linden abandons her three children with her older sister, Jayne, in 1972, she knows Jayne will be the perfect mother. The mother Bunny, a teen runaway, could never be.

As months turn into years without word, Jayne and her husband, Rodger, a rising journalism star, strive to give the children the opportunity to flourish and feel loved. When Jayne and Rodger finally have a child of their own, a seemingly stable home is built. But then, after nearly a decade, Bunny resurfaces and sets a chain of events in motion that detonates all their lives.

As adults, their children try to reassemble the pieces and solve the mystery that has always haunted them. Who were their parents? What really happened between them? And who is ultimately to blame for the destruction? But will the answers they seek set them free—or lead to something far more damaging than anyone imagined?

From a #1 New York Times bestselling author comes a powerful novel about family, the weight of secrets, the choices we make, and the repercussions of the decisions made for us.

When Bunny Linden...

A Note From the Publisher

Nicola Kraus has coauthored, with Emma McLaughlin, ten novels, including the international #1 bestseller The Nanny Diaries, Citizen Girl, Dedication, and The Real Real. Nicola has contributed to the Times (of London), the New York Times, Redbook, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Town & Country, and Maxim, as well as two short story collections to benefit the War Child fund: Big Night Out and Girls’ Night Out. In 2015 she cofounded the creative consulting firm The Finished Thought, which helps the next generation of aspiring authors find their voice and audience. Through her work there, she has collaborated on several New York Times nonfiction bestsellers. For more information, visit www.nicolakrausauthor.com.

Advance Praise

Praise for The Best We Could Hope For

“Writing with grace and intelligence, Kraus explores the complex intersection of memory and loyalty in a sweeping story about a broken family and the women who knit together the remains. Perfect for book clubs.” —Sarah Pekkanen, #1 New York Times bestselling author of House of Glass

“From a beloved writer comes a unique, deeply moving story told with heart, depth, and humor about the women we are, the women we come from, and the way we heal.” —Rebecca Serle, New York Times bestselling author of In Five Years and Expiration Dates

“So heartbreaking and so good I couldn’t stop reading—even when I needed to catch a train or make dinner. Like Ann Patchett, Kraus gets at the heart of how people can disconnect from their truest selves, and how, if they’re lucky, they can find their way back.” —Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of Pictures of You and Days of Wonder

“For anyone who grew up with Kramer vs. Kramer and MTV, Kraus perfectly captures the ache and stretch of adolescence, the grief and rage of middle age, and the loss and doubt that form the drumbeat beneath it all. Consistently surprising in all the best ways, this book is a beacon!” —Catherine Newman, author of We All Want Impossible Things and Sandwich

“Nicola Kraus deftly shows how the fog of generational trauma can finally give way to clarity and understanding when the grown children in a uniquely blended family learn how their mothers’ painful pasts shaped them all.” —Laura Zigman, author of Separation Anxiety and Small World

Praise for The Best We Could Hope For

“Writing with grace and intelligence, Kraus explores the complex intersection of memory and loyalty in a sweeping story about a broken family and the women who...