A collection of short stories chronicling the heartbreaks and triumphs of tough mothers and their even tougher daughters. Some of the stories include: a gang-rape victim and single mother who regrets her choices; a paranoid woman who accuses her boyfriend of liking her teenage daughter; a pregnant new bride; and a cancer-ridden woman who apologizes to her daughter.

Sleepover -- Playhouse -- Tell yourself -- The greatest show on Earth, 1982 -- What there was -- Mothers, tell your daughters -- My sister is in pain -- A multitude of sins -- To you, as a woman -- Daughters of the animal kingdom -- Somewhere warm -- My bliss -- Blood work, 1999 -- Children of Transylvania, 1983 -- Natural disasters -- The fruit of the pawpaw tree.