'one of this year's most anticipated local releases' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH'compelling first novel' WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN'tightly crafted' THE AGE Life isn't meant to be planned, it's meant to be lived. Maggie Apperton has always been a busy wife and mother. It suited her. She had never wanted to stop and really listen, to her children or her husband . or herself.With the sudden death of her husband, Marcus, Maggie realises she doesn't know the adults her children have become. Her son, Patrick, has told his mother a little about his life in the city - but only the basics. Her daughter, Isabel, writes regularly, but her letters from Paris are polite and businesslike, revealing nothing.

As Maggie, Isabel and Patrick come together to say goodbye to Marcus, long-guarded secrets begin to surface. In confronting the past, the bonds of family are stretched to breaking point. They each must learn to listen and forgive, before it is too late.If you loved the movie THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU or Lian Moriarty's THE HUSBAND'S SECRET, you will love PICTURES OF US.Now featuring the first chapter of Todd's exciting new book, TOM HOUGHTON.