Coming soon!
The host. The guest. The neighbor. Life is one big party — until it all catches on fire.
In a hazy 1960s Rhode Island summer, three disparate lives—a widow desperate for friendship, a homeless artist, and a housewife whose perfect life is crumbling—converge and combust at a series of disruptive house parties.
Polite Calamities explores what “community” really means when societal survival is at stake, and what happens when women decide it’s time to stop behaving and start living.
About Jenni
Jennifer Gold is an award-winning author of book club fiction. Her books feature themes of love, second-chances, and self-discovery. When she’s not writing, you can find her sipping coffee, enjoying the outdoors, or curled up with a book.
My favorite recent review
“I am once again amazed at how seamlessly Jennifer Gold can craft a story. She manages to make me feel as if the main character is my closest friend after only reading a few pages. Her characters are always strong-willed, determined women who are often facing difficult circumstances and are learning how to cope after their lives have been uprooted.”
Video: What can you expect from a Jennifer Gold book?
Praise & Awards
““Forget about second chances—this epic love story will leave you believing in third and fourth chances. Halfway to You is a beautiful exploration of the healing power of forgiveness between lovers, family, and friends. Jennifer Gold succeeds in breaking your heart before expertly putting it back together again.””
“The Ingredients of Us is a literary confection filled with multifaceted characters and a compelling story line. Gold’s bittersweet look at love will satisfy any contemporary women’s fiction reader’s sweet tooth.”
““Halfway to You is an emotional and multilayered tale bursting with juicy family secrets and seemingly insurmountable obstacles. This story within a story is filled to the brim with surprising reveals you won’t see coming. I absolutely loved it.””
“Come for the story of a baker facing a crisis in her marriage. Stay for the recipes – lush, beautiful things, filled with life lessons. From that very first recipe for passive-aggressive blackberry jam, you know you’re in for something special.”
“A delightful and delicious read, The Ingredients of Us delves into the fabric of marriage and what happens when some ingredients in the relationship are missing. Gold has crafted a smart storyline with memorable characters and mouth-watering recipes that are sure to appeal to fans of Jenny Colgan and Amy E. Reichert.”
“Achingly beautiful and emotionally rich, Keep Me Afloat explores the heartache of stifling self to put family first. When a marine biologist—broke, jobless, alone—drifts home with a U-Haul of guilt, her past and present merge to reveal her truth in unexpected ways. A stunning novel of love, redemption, and whales.”
“The Ingredients of Us is a delightfully original novel filled with love, regret, and recipes that are themselves like little short stories. You’ll want to cry for Elle as she navigates the breakup of her marriage and flashes back on the earlier, happier days. And then you want to follow her to her kitchen and feast on her buttery concoctions as she finds healing and strength.”
“Keep Me Afloat is a rich ebb and flow of human emotion, offering an intimate look at a young marine biologist’s journey to finding herself. Set against the extraordinary backdrop of the Pacific Northwest coastline, this engaging story will leave readers buoyant with hope.”
Awards
2020 Book Excellence Award Winner in Relationships (The Ingredients of Us)
2020 International Book Award Finalist in Best New Fiction and Women’s Fiction! (The Ingredients of Us)
2020 Chanticleer International Book Award Somerset First Place Winner (Keep Me Afloat)
2020 Best Book Award finalist in General Fiction (Keep Me Afloat)
2021 Book Excellence Award Winner in Marriage (Keep Me Afloat)
2021 International Book Award Winner in Women’s Fiction and Finalist in General Fiction (Keep Me Afloat)
