Accompanying a future famous actress from her Wichita home to New York, chaperone Cora Carlisle shares a life-changing five-week period with her ambitious teenage charge during which she discovers the promise of the twentieth century and her own purpose in life.

"A poignant and powerful new memoir-in-essays that tackles the big questions of life, death, and existential fear with humor and hope"--

"A semi-famous artist announces her plan to drive cross-country, from LA to NY. Twenty minutes after leaving her husband and child at home, she spontaneously exits the freeway, beds down in a nondescript motel, and immerses herself in a temporary reinvention that turns out to be the start of an entirely different journey"--

"After a series of terrible dates, Marni McGuire, the host of a popular TV cooking show, forms an unbreakable bond with her best friend Ellen as well as a young intern on the show and her pregnant daughter Bella as they navigate the challenges and celebrate the joys of life"--

Society matron Norma Carlisle volunteers to accompany future Jazz Age star and free spirit Louise Brooks for a summer in New York. But why does she want to go? It's a story full of surprises, about who these women really are, and who they eventually become. Written by Julian Fellowes and based on the beloved novel by Laura Moriarty.