In the debut novel that set her on the path to becoming an American classic, Anne Tyler’s If Morning Ever Comes presents a timeless portrait of a young man’s homecoming, and his ensuing journey through youth, identity, family, and love.

Raised amongst a family of strong-minded women has left Ben Joe Hawkes as something of a worrier, who has always felt like an outsider in his own family. But when a combination of homesickness and complicated news reaches Ben at Columbia Law School, he is more than happy to drop his studies and head back to his small hometown in North Carolina to care for the women in his life. Except that between his grandmother, widowed mother, and six sisters, there doesn’t seem to be much Ben can do in the way of help, making him feel even more out of place. As Ben faces the memories of his past and tries to find his place in the present, will he find what he’s been searching for?