NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A luminous novel exploring a woman’s desire to abandon the endless obligations of work and marriage—and the idea that the most passionate romance can be found with the person you know best. From the author of Not My Daughter comes the story of Emily Aulenbach, an idealistic young lawyer who once dreamed of representing victims of corporate abuse. Instead, she now spends her days in a cubicle arguing victims of corporate greed out of their rightful claims. And it isn’t only work. It’s her sister, her friends, even her husband, Tim, with whom she doesn’t connect the way she used to. She doesn’t connect to much in her life, period, with the exception of three things—her computer, her BlackBerry, and her watch. One day, she snaps. Without telling anyone where she is going, she heads north to Bell Valley, New Hampshire, the small town where she spent a life-altering summer during her college years. There, she will set out to forge new relationships with lovers, long-lost friends and the person she once wanted to become. “A powerful novel with a powerful message. . . . One of Delinsky’s best.” — Las Vegas Review-Journal   “Captivating. . . . Will keep readers hooked.” — Publishers Weekly “Features unforgettable characters, and a relatable, timely story.” —CBS Boston “Fans of Barbara Delinsky’s novels will welcome Escape . . . . Delinsky knows the topics that will hit home.” — The Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg, VA)   “Delinsky delves deeper into the human heart and spirit with each new novel.” — Cincinnati Inquirer  “A storyline many modern women can relate to. . . . Delinsky twists her plot, giving Emily’s story refreshing new perspectives.” —Bookreporter.com   “Delinsky is an engaging writer who knows how to interweave several stories about complex relationships and keeps her books interesting to the end. “ — Newark Star-Ledger    “ Escape is yet another powerful, emotional tug of war from the talented Ms. Delinsky.” — The New York Journal of Books    “Delinsky [is] out there with the Anita Shreves and Elizabeth Bergs, perpetually bestselling authors who wrestle with bigger themes.” — Lexington Herald-Ledger BARBARA DELINSKY has more than thirty million copies of her books in print. She lives with her fam­ily in New England.   Chapter 1 Have you ever woken up in a cold sweat, thinking that you’ve taken a wrong turn and are stuck in a life you don’t want? Did you ever consider hitting the brakes, backing up, and heading elsewhere? How about disappearing—leaving family, friends, even a spouse—ditching everything you’ve known and starting over again. Reinvent­ing yourself. Rediscovering yourself. Maybe, just maybe, returning to an old lover. Have you ever dreamed about this? No. Me, neither. No dream, no plan. It was just another Friday. I awoke at 6:10 to the blare of the radio, and hit the button to silence it. I didn’t need talk of politics to knot up my stomach, when the thought of going to work did that all on its own. It didn’t help that my husband, already long gone, texted me at 6:15, knowing I’d have my BlackBerry with me in the bathroom. Can’t make dinner tonight. Sorry. I was stunned. The dinner in question, which had been on our calendar for weeks, involved senior partners at my firm. It was impor­tant that James be there with me. OMG, I typed. Why not? I received his reply seconds before stepping into the shower. Gotta work late, he said, and how could I argue? We were both lawyers, seven years out of law school. We had talked about working our tails off now to pay our dues, and I had been in total agreement at fi rst. Lately, though, we had seen little of each other, and it was getting worse. When I pointed this out to James, he got a helpless look in his eyes, like, What can I do? I tried to relax under the hot spray, but I kept arguing aloud that there were things we could do if we wanted to be together—that love should trump work—that we had to make changes before we had kids, or what was the point—that my coyote dreams had begun when I started getting letters from Jude Bell, and though I stuffed those letters under the bed and out of sight, a tiny part of me knew they were there. I had barely left the shower when my BlackBerry dinged again. No surprise. My boss, Walter Burbridge, always e-mailed at 6:30. Client wants an update, he wrote. Can you do it by ten? Here’s a little background. I used to be an idealist. Starting law school, I had dreamed of defending innocent people against corpo­rate wrongdoing, and by graduation was itching to be involved in an honest-to-goodness class action lawsuit. Now I am. Only I’m the bad guy. The case on which I work involves a company that produces bottled water that was tainted enough to cause irreparable harm to a frightening number of people. The company has agreed to compen­sate the victims. My job is to determine how many, how sick, and how littl