From Publishers Weekly This new novel by the author of Traditions focuses on three long-separated childhood friends who meet to celebrate their 40th birthdays. Joanna seems to have it alla glamorous career， a handsome， wealthy husband， a beautiful daughter. Sara is the domestic one， her identity tied to her children and her professor husband's achievements. Dean has used his long-standing homosexual relationship to escape the rejections he encountered as an actor. All three believe themselves content， until a devastating automobile accident mars their reunion and forces them to reexamine their lives. The women's marriages and Dean's relationship come under intense scrutiny. Each of the three comes to realize that in some way he or she has relinquished personal responsibility， and thus forfeited personal satisfaction. This is an intelligent， often compelling novel， in which realistic characters deal with practical problems. The major characters necessarily undergo changes during the course of the story， and it is to Ebert's credit that none of them is provided with a pat solution. Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information， Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From Library Journal They meet after years of separation， three childhood friends turning 40: Joanna Bennett， "the Tiffany of public relations" in Beverly Hills and wife of a prominent plastic surgeon; Dean Di Nardo， supportive partner in a homosexual relationship， trying to resume his acting career; and Sara Schell， mother of four， married to a Princeton professor. That night their lives change， when Joanna and Dean are in a car accident and Sara learns that her husband loves another woman. With each other's support， Dean deals with loss and his own sexuality， Sara seeks therapy and survives， and Joanna finds that her near-death experience (NDE) after the accident estranges her from loved ones. Ebert ( Traditions ， The Long Way Home ) can set up a scene， but the NDE is the only fresh element in this landscape of "the angst of forty" with a little glitz and lots of soap. Michele Leber， Fairfax Cty. P.L.， Va.Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information， Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.