One Way Home — Susan Pepper Robbins

One Way Home is a poignant, compassionate, and humorous tale of a feisty single mother struggling to raise her two sons - and escape the unwanted attentions of her ex. In this fast, funny and wonderfully original novel, Susan Pepper Robbins, an award-winning writer, gives us a story with a heroine.
Once again, Ruth has found a new job and a new apartment in a new town. Once again, she has enrolled her two boys - Richie, age twelve, and Andrew, age eight - in a new school, after explaining for the umpteenth time why they had to move. And once again, her ex-husband has somehow discovered their new address, and has begun paying the boys surreptitious daytime visits and cooking them lunch while she's at work. Ruth thinks that she is on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
Will Richie ever stop harassing her - in his best rapper's voice - for being an "early-stage alcoholic"? Will Andrew ever stop whining about getting a dog? And most important, will her ex-husband ever leave her alone for long enough so that she can have a normal life and do normal things, like go out on a date?
Welcome to the joys of parenting, nineties style. In One Way Home, Susan Pepper Robbins takes us on a quirky engaging, and frequently uproarious roller-coaster ride through one single mother's life - the pitfalls, the pratfalls, and the uphill struggle for some degree of sanity. Here is a novel that will touch the heart and tickle the funny bone of anyone who has ever experienced the ups and downs of family life.