So spontaneous is the writing in A Lifetime Burning, one might believe these are indeed words of a woman desperately trying to understand what has happened to her life, beginning with the fact that her husband has stopped sleeping with her.

Why? Is there a rival--perhaps "The Toad," the unattractive housewife next door-- or someone else, who will completely surprise the reader, as do many of the events of the protagonist's story? At age sixty-two, Corinne must grapple with the most painful truth that her lifelong passion--which is anyone's passion, to love and be loved, body and soul--could burn unquenched forever. Her imaginative narrative even when she is lying is as revealing as bedrock truth. A Lifetime Burning is as real as life itself--a novel shimmering and vital and recognizably true. Gripping, smart, suspenseful, and at times wonderfully witty, Douglas's widely acclaimed book forms a searching and searing record of love, anger, confession, and discovery.

Ellen Douglas, Jackson, Mississippi, is the author of A Family's Affairs, Where the Dreams Cross, Apostles of Light, A Lifetime Burning, The Rock Cried Out, and two collections of essays. Many of her novels have been listed as New York Times Best of the Year, and Apostles of Light was a finalist for the National Book Award. She is the recipient of the 2000 American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature.