Talking about death and dying is considered taboo in polite company, and even in the medical field. Our ideas about dying are confusing at best: Will our memories flash before our eyes? Regrets consume our thoughts? Does a bright light appear at the end of a tunnel? For most people, it will be a slower process, one eased with preparedness, good humor, and a bit of faith. At the forefront of changing attitudes around palliative care is hospice nurse Hadley Vlahos, who shows that end-of-life care can teach us just as much about how to live as it does about how we die.

In this “rich, complex family saga” (USA Today) full of long-buried family secrets, Marilyn Connolly and David Sorenson fall in love in the 1970s, blithely ignorant of all that awaits them. By 2016, they have four radically different daughters, each in a state of unrest.

From the moment Lucy met her husband's mother, Diana, she was kept at arm's length. Diana was exquisitely polite and properly friendly, but Lucy knew she was not what Diana envisioned. That was five years ago. Now, Diana is dead, a suicide note found near her body. Diana claims she no longer wanted to live because of a battle with cancer. But the autopsy finds no cancer. The autopsy does find traces of poison and evidence of suffocation.

Breezing into the tony seaside paradise of Westport, Connecticut, gorgeous thirtysomething Piper Reynard sets down roots, opening a rehab and wellness space and joining a local yacht club. When she meets Leo Drakos, a handsome, successful lawyer, the wedding ring on his finger is the only thing she doesn’t like about him. Yet as Piper well knows, no marriage is permanent.

Dr. Kate English has it all. Not only is she the heiress to a large fortune; she has a gorgeous husband and daughter, a high-flying career, and a beautiful home anyone would envy. But all that changes the night Kate’s mother, Lily, is found dead, brutally murdered in her own home. Heartbroken and distraught, Kate reaches out to her estranged best friend, Blaire Barrington, who rushes to her side for the funeral, where the years of distance between them are forgotten in a moment. That evening, Kate’s grief turns to horror when she receives an anonymous text.

Her diamond caught the sun’s rays and refracted light across the room. She’d asked herself again and again: How could she be so blessed? Partner at a prestigious law firm and engaged to the man of her dreams . . . there was no doubt. God had smiled on Kendra Woods. But the moment Kendra is diagnosed with terminal breast cancer, her world collapses. Within days, her fiancé backs out of the wedding and the firm suggests a leave of absence during her treatment. Of all the roles Kendra has played over the years, cancer patient seems the most unwelcome in the world.

They say a soul mate only comes along once. I believe it, too. I had my chance, but it slipped away. Each day a little more of myself dies, but I pretend I’m fine. That is until I see him - the man who makes me feel alive - Garrick Shaw. Something within me changes. It’s unavoidable and unlike anything I’ve ever known. And it scares me, terrifies me. But there’s another danger lurking around the corner. Someone is conspiring to take it all away. Who are they? What do they want? Why are they after me?

Megan waits at the school gates for her six-year-old son, Daniel. As the playground empties, panic bubbles inside her. Daniel is nowhere to be found. According to his teacher, Daniel’s father picked up his son. Except he and Megan are no longer together. After years of being controlled by her cruel husband, Megan finally found the courage to divorce him. Hands trembling, she dials his number, but the line is dead. Six years later, Megan gets the call she has dreamt about for years. Daniel has walked into a police station in a remote town just a few miles away....

Alice Hunter is smarting from the raw deal life has thrown her way: suddenly single, jobless and forced to move home to her parents' tiny seaside town. And now she faces an uncomfortable truth. She wants her twin sister Libby's enviable life. Libby's closest friend Jess Dekic has been around the Hunter family for so long she might as well be blood. She's always considered herself a sister closer to Libby than Alice ever could be.

Nora Spangler is a successful attorney but when it comes to domestic life, she packs the lunches, schedules the doctor appointments, knows where the extra paper towel rolls are, and designs and orders the holiday cards. Her husband works hard, too...but why does it seem like she is always working so much harder?

Marry the love of my life. Become a mother. Write a book. Number one was complete. I was well on my way to checking off goals two and three, before a cancer diagnosis derailed my plans. A story meant to chronicle the journey of impending motherhood with wit, became a brutally honest memoir of living life to the fullest. Make every breath count. When finally confronted with the knowledge the cancer is terminal, I search for a way to accomplish all the things I wanted to do within my lifetime...when I don't have a lifetime left.

Get the entire Year of Discovery series in one box set: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and the explosive conclusion, December. Over 700 pages of tragedy, tribulation, and triumph in one volume.

Davina Trent lives for work. Marriage is destined to fail, and family can’t be trusted. But when Trent’s cousin dies unexpectedly, Trent is the only relative left to care for his two small children. She needs a nanny fast. All Wendy Darling ever wanted was a family. Wendy falls in love with the children, but her heart aches at the distance between Trent and the kids. Wendy’s determined to show Trent how fulfilling family life can be, and soon love begins to blossom. But will Trent have the courage to embrace her desire for Wendy and her unexpected family?

Alpha couple Richard and Dusty may not fit the world's sense of normal, but they have each other. As a graphic designer who works from home while his pilot husband is off flying the friendly skies, Dusty spends way too many hours alone. Hours spent longing for a family, the family that the orphaned alpha is sadly lacking. Rich never wanted children, but after a decade with his husband, the alpha is ready to open his heart to a child. Even if children are sticky, dirty, and downright irritating for the most part.

When Quinn Langston’s her best friend unexpectedly passes away, Quinn knows she'll do anything to protect Brooke’s three-year-old daughter, Lily, and her grandmother Margaret. Not only is Quinn the little girl’s godmother, but they are the family she always wished she had. Now she vows to do whatever it takes to help the three of them heal - even if it means letting a complete stranger into their lives - and into their hearts. Margaret is old-fashioned, and she has no compunction about finding a way to reach Lily’s dad, a sperm donor.