Wish you were here
(Book)

One year after the lingering death of family patriarch Henry Maxwell, his autocratic widow, Emily, invites her scattered family to spend a last vacation together at their Lake Chautauqua summer home, which she unilaterally has decided to sell after decades of ownership by the family. In August, three generations converge at the house, among them Henry's spinster sister, Arlene, a retired schoolteacher; Meg, the oldest daughter, whose "train wreck of a life" has encompassed alcoholism, financial disaster, and a recent divorce; and Ken, the distant, reserved younger child whose struggle to succeed as a freelance photographer has placed an added strain on his already complicated home life. Accompanying them are Ken's lonely, introspective wife, Lisa, and an assortment of children -- both Ken's and Meg's -- with issues and problems of their own.