Terry McMillan’s A Day Late and a Dollar Short is a powerful, deeply human portrait of a family in turmoil — and the fierce, funny woman determined to pull them back together.

At its heart is Viola Price, a sharp-tongued Las Vegas matriarch whose recent asthma attack leaves her reevaluating her life and her fractious family. From her hospital bed, she takes stock of her children’s troubles: Lewis, her brilliant but self-destructive son; Janelle, the youngest, trapped in a career dead end and blind to her daughter’s cries for help; Charlotte, the combative middle child whose pride keeps her at arm’s length; and Paris, the eldest, whose glamorous veneer hides loneliness and addiction. Meanwhile, Viola’s estranged husband, Cecil, has found comfort with another woman — one who’s pregnant and possibly carrying his child.

Told through multiple voices, McMillan’s novel unfolds with humor, heartbreak, and unflinching honesty as each family member faces hard truths about love, forgiveness, and survival. A Day Late and a Dollar Short is both a raw and redemptive story of resilience — a testament to the messy, enduring ties that bind a family together, even when everything seems to be falling apart.

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Viking; First Edition First Printing (January 15, 2001)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 432 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0670896764
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0670896769
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.7 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1.5 x 9.75 inches
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket: Very Good

Bottom edge water stained, else very good, not soiled; pages are clean, unmarked, and unbent.