The wishing box

the long version

"Julia, a smart, sexy, almost thirty-year-old single mom, is doing a pretty good job of raising her son but isn't too sure about what she's doing with the rest of her life. One day, on a whim, she and her sister create a wishing box and hold a ceremony for the return of their father, who abandoned the family when they were young. Astonishingly, he does come back - and with momentous stories to tell. But Julia has already set out on her own unintended adventure.". "Julia and her family of seers, cynics, and seekers are at the heart of this funny and constantly surprising first novel about appearances and disappearances, the desire to control the future and explain the past, and the legacies passed on from one generation to another."--BOOK JACKET.