Verbena — Nanci Kincaid

A big-hearted novel of a Southern woman's trials and tribulations: “Kincaid's voice is a true original” (Alice Hoffman).
 
When Bobby died in a car wreck with another woman at his side, Verbena was left with five kids, a small house, and a big empty place in her heart. She did her best to pick up the pieces -- and pick up where her husband left off, paying the mortgage, mowing the lawn, and raising her children so they'd turn out reasonably decent.
 
Five years later, Bena's got two daughters who have run off with no-good men, a backyard full of marijuana plants none of her kids will own up to, and a semi-personal relationship with Jesus. But she's trying. And when she's ready to fall in love again, she knows whom she wants: Lucky McKale. And despite the fact that he's married, he seems to want her too, in this “touching account of a middle-aged widow who puts her life back together even more spectacularly than it came apart . . . A well-told and likable tale” (Kirkus Reviews).
 
“Bena Eckerd has one of those fabulously unpredictable and noisy households that can both drive you crazy and make you sane again . . . Down-to-earth humor . . . and the nonstop plot twists keep us riveted to the adventures of her unruly clan and her messy search for love and meaning.” -- Orlando Sentinel
 
“Exuberant . . . Kincaid has a terrific knack for capturing Southern speech, customs, and characters.” -- The Cincinnati Enquirer