This is a well-written and mostly sympathetic telling of Arden's story after the premature death of her husband leaves her not just saddled with debt, but also questioning everything she knows about who she is and her role in the world.  As a family they always lived beyond their means, and their children, the older daughter in particular, have little sense of "real life".

At times I was frustrated by Arden's total lack of common sense, ie sell the house that she hates anyway and has never been happy in, and the fact that we don't really see her financial situation getting any worse, despite supposedly several bills that are seriously overdue and no income.

Having said that, I can also understand how even in this era it's possible for women to be under the radar and ignored - or they choose to be ignored!

We gradually learn how Arden's mother's life impacted her and her sister, the decade of "grasping" for Arden's rightful inheritance that destroyed her childhood and damaged their relationship.  I didn't love any of the characters but I did sympathise with her struggle with single parenthood, with a daughter in her early teens who was self-harming and always angry, and I did think the ending was the right way for the author to go.

Some distressing scenes of elder abuse/rape