<p>Holly Rizzuto Palker and Sam Field chat with Lisa Roe, author of <em>Big & Lily</em>, about sisterhood, second acts, and the ways women learn to rewrite the stories they’ve been living.</p><p>A sharply funny, deeply heartfelt novel about two sisters who discover the best way to find yourself is by getting lost.</p><p>For her entire life, Bridget “Big” Ackerman Petty has struggled to hold everything together—her kids, her husband, her demanding mother, all in dizzying orbit around her. While the kids are grown and her husband is retired, every day still feels like a to-do list she can never quite finish. Why is everything so effortless and easy for her sister Lily—a woman blessed with a magnetic personality, a thriving business, and a husband who adores her?</p><p>But when Lily discovers her husband’s been cheating, her “perfect” life implodes. Devastated and overwhelmed, she decides to run as far away as possible: to Alaska to lose herself on a hardcore survival trek—and she’s dragged her reluctant sister Big along.</p><p>No cell service, no easy exits—just grizzlies, outdoor plumbing, and a group of strangers who know how to read a compass. As the sisters navigate freezing rivers, unmarked trails, and more than one near-death experience, the defenses they’ve used to protect themselves begin to crumble, and they’re forced to face everything they’ve spent decades avoiding: resentment, regret, envy, and the terrifying possibility that the other sister’s life might not be as easy as it looks.</p><p><em>Big & Lily</em> is a laugh-out-loud, emotionally rich novel about second acts, sisterhood, and the unexpected ways we find ourselves when we’re truly lost.</p><p>Lisa Roe graduated from the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and spent many years as an advertising creative director and copywriter in New York City before accepting the tougher job of stay-at-home mom and turning to writing fiction—mostly to entertain her kids, but later to tell her own stories. A classic firstborn, reluctant empty nester, and Dr. Doolittle wannabe, Lisa lives in New Jersey with her husband, David, and three incorrigible dogs. <em>Big & Lily</em> is her second novel.</p><p><strong>Links:</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/big-lily-a-novel-lisa-roe/12ab76057a94d48b?ean=9780063474925&#38;next=t">Preorder </a><a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/big-lily-a-novel-lisa-roe/12ab76057a94d48b?ean=9780063474925&#38;next=t"><em>Big & Lily</em></a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://lisaroe.com/">Website</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/LisaRoeAuthor">Facebook</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/lisaroewrites/">Instagram</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17945245.Lisa_Roe">Goodreads</a></p><p></p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://literarymama.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_1">literarymama.substack.com</a>