Ask Again Yes
Ask Again Yes
A profoundly moving novel about two neighboring families in a suburban town, the bond between their children, a tragedy that reverberates over four decades, the daily intimacies of marriage, and the power of forgiveness.
Francis Gleeson and Brian Stanhope, two rookie cops in the NYPD, live next door to each other outside the city. What happens behind closed doors in both houses—the loneliness of Francis’s wife, Lena, and the instability of Brian’s wife, Anne—sets the stage for the explosive events to come.
Ask Again, Yes is a deeply affecting exploration of the lifelong friendship and love that blossoms between Francis and Lena’s daughter, Kate, and Brian and Anne’s son, Peter. Luminous, heartbreaking, and redemptive, Ask Again, Yes reveals the way childhood memories change when viewed from the distance of adulthood—villains lose their menace and those who appeared innocent seem less so. Kate and Peter’s love story, while tested by echoes from the past, is marked by tenderness, generosity, and grace.
2 Comments
Ask Again, Yes is a book that continues to haunt me. The families in the story find their lives intertwined in ways they could hardly imagine. As youngsters, Kate and Peter are good playmates. As adults, they fall in love and build a family of their own despite the past trouble between the families. It is a story of love, strength, and redemption.
Hi I felt you did a great job teaching people about mental illness and alcoholism. Even introducing it into the world and putting a name to what it is. But also felt you had a wonderful platform to introduce solutions. Introducing what mental illness intels especially medication. Also peters wife a scientist but no mention of her getting help through therapy, alanon or even coming to family day in rehab. Or explaining to her what this disease is. It would of made a difference since you are pulling people out of denial to introduce these solutions to these real issues. I felt it missed the mark. And left her to become extremely codependent with her husband and the disease of addiction without giving her hope.