The Glides of Fort Cloud, Wisconsin, are a Spectacularly Dysfunctional Family. Rusty and Judy did the best they could when raising their three children, yet nothing turned out the way they planned. The Glide parents have just about resigned themselves to the fact that their kids will never live up to their expectations — when a ray of hope comes in the form of a new baby.
Judy's heart soars as Gretchen announces that she and her disturbingly hirsute boyfriend, Ray, are expecting their first child. But it soon becomes clear that Gretchen proposes to raise her child in her own way, absent any indication of its sex: no pink or blue nursery, no baby dolls or trucks, no — to Judy's horror — traditional male or female names. In order to be a part of their grandchild's life, Rusty and Judy must first come to terms with their daughter — and to do that, they must look at themselves and their family with new eyes. Written with daring and humor and with the confidence of a seasoned novelist, Tenaya Darlington's debut is a funny, heartwarming, and insightful look at the real meaning of family.