Grace finds comfort in marrying Bain, a man of similar social class, as his expectations mirror her parents'. He quickly abandons his literary dreams for a more stable career in banking. Any of her reservations are short-lived as she defers all decisions to Bain. Moving to a beachfront home in Cape Cod, Grace floats among their social engagements and then excitedly plans a family. With Bain at the helm, their life smoothly crosses the expected path just gliding on the surface of emotions. When Grace and Bain find themselves engulfed in storms of family deaths, unexpected tragedies, and financial upheaval, Grace's supports leave her bobbing. Her sons, distraught at the sale of the family home, attack her idealistic life. Her brother Ferris, an off-track alcoholic, tells her that life seems fated based on youthful decisions. Though she struggles to find dry land amid the chaos, Grace's prognosis of a terminable illness threatens to drown her. With her life at stake, will Grace finally take charge and make her own decisions without Bain's direction? Will she have the strength to delve deeper into her own feelings? Or did the desire to wed destine her to always be Mrs. Alcott?

Author Nancy Geary writes well developed characters with public personas, private lives, dreams, and goals. Ms. Geary slowly unravels the story of a family's expectations of privilege, then entangles all the characters in a believable chaos to question their own motives and relationships. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I read this quickly, not wanting to wait for the next twist. For those wanting to run through a gamut of emotions, I highly recommend Being Mrs. Alcott.