The First Time

Joy Fielding expands the scope of her storytelling as never before in this exquisitely movingNew York Timesbestseller -- a richly textured love story of astonishing emotional force.THE FIRST TIMEAfter sixteen years of marriage, Mattie Hart discovers that her husband, Jake -- a high-profile Chicago attorney -- is involved in yet another love affair. But a far greater crisis descends upon the Hart family after Jake leaves home: Mattie receives devastating news that will alter their lives. Wracked by guilt, Jake returns to the wife he has never really loved and the teenage daughter who wants nothing to do with him. Here, in these most unexpected of circumstances, Joy Fielding deftly ushers her characters through a poignant drama about love's astonishing power to heal the deepest wounds.The First Timeis a dazzling illumination of a marriage at the crossroad, where a long estranged husband and wife discover, for the first time, what love really means.

Joy Fielding is the author of Charley’s Web, Heartstopper, Mad River Road, Puppet, and more than a dozen other acclaimed novels. She divides her time between Toronto and Palm Beach, Florida. Visit her website at JoyFielding.com.