Book excerpt: On the brink of her fortieth birthday, Katie Olmstead is in no mood to celebrate. Still tending bar to support a stalled art career, she continues to struggle with her temperamental teenage son, C.J., the death of her son's estranged father, her own troubled childhood, a bullying sister, an on-again, off-again boyfriend she just can't love, and a drinking habit. Katie finds support in an unlikely place--her eccentric and ailing great uncle, Walter.