Paula Sharp is an American author whose fictional works focus on the American family and explore themes of social injustice. Her prose delves into the complexities of familial relationships, revealing the hidden battle lines that often shape our lives. Through her narratives, she grapples with deeply ingrained societal issues, offering a poignant examination of the human experience. Her writing is characterized by its unflinching honesty and compassion.
Penny knows that her mother drinks too much and has a flair for melodrama but she also has a sense of fun that makes everything feel the way it should. So when her mother goes south in 1977 to "dry out" in a convent, Penny is alarmed to be left in the care of a high-minded lady called Isabel Flood.
This is the story of Melanie Ratleer, a judge who is approaching the peak of her career with the anguished awareness that she has long since abandoned herself to the comforting impersonality of her work. Paula Sharp is the author of "The Woman Who Was Not All There" and "The Imposter".