A woman must return to her hometown of Santa Cruz, CA to inherit her family home after her mother dies, and is reunited with her estranged brother and sister, whom she was responsible for sending to prison 15 years earlier. An upmarket, darkly funny family saga.

A VERY TYPICAL FAMILY
by Sierra Godfrey
Sourcebooks Landmark, February 2022

Natalie Walker is the reason her brother and sister went to jail over 15 years ago. As a result, she hasn’t spoken to her family since. On the same day she expects to be promoted at her job (until her boyfriend Paul swoops in and takes the position), Natalie receives a letter from a lawyer in Santa Cruz saying her mother has died and the only way for her children to inherit their family’s large, historical home is for all three adult children to come back and claim it.
Natalie drives to Santa Cruz, expecting to sign some documents, see siblings Lynn and Jake, and get back to her life in Boston. But Jake, now an award-winning scientist, is missing. And Lynn, working as an undertaker in NYC, shows up with her teenaged son. While Natalie and her nephew look for Jake—meeting a very handsome Spanish scientist in the process—Natalie takes stock of her life and the guilt she has held dear for so many years. Though no one can change the past, every day is an opportunity to change how you want to live in the future.

Sierra Godfrey is a tech editor by day who loves writing stories about complex relationships. She lives in the foggy wastelands of the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, sons, and a bevy of animals, all of which seemed like a good idea at the time.