A Girl Named Alabama — Richard Ford

Alabama Valens is a pretty, young woman who is secure in the belief that she is in charge of her life -- until a phone call from her brother brings her to the sudden realization that life can change abruptly and with frightening speed.

When tragedy strikes and upends her whole world, Alabama is forced to quit her job, bury her beloved father, and return home to take care of her now incapacitated mother. As she desperately clings to what remains of her now shattered life, she unexpectedly meets a handsome, charming stranger who quickly captures her heart. He grasps the enormous weight of her responsibilities and eagerly helps her as she begins to rebuild her life. But it is not long before Alabama is confronted with the need to change and move far beyond her former life in order to stay with the man she has now fallen deeply in love with, and to a world she never dreamed existed and where character is everything.

In this intriguing tale, a young woman whose life is upended by tragedy falls in love with a stranger who introduces her to a new reality she never imagined in her wildest dreams.