Books like The history of us by Leah Stewart

When Eloise Hempel receives a devastating call that her sister and brother‑in‑law have died, she abandons a promising career at Harvard to return home to Cincinnati and assume responsibility for her three nephews and nieces. Relocating into her mother’s century‑old house, she dedicates herself to their upbringing and the home’s upkeep, even as the trauma of the accident and her mother’s frailty weigh heavily on her. Nearly twenty years later, the family has grown: Theodora, Josh, and Claire have become adults, with Claire pursuing a ballet career in New York City. Eloise plans to finally sell the house and reclaim her own life, but her mother’s insistence on a contest for the house and a startling secret that Claire holds threaten to shatter the fragile family bonds they have built. The novel explores the complexities of familial obligation, the tug‑of‑war between duty and personal ambition, and the quiet resilience required to keep a family together through loss and change.

First publish date: 2013