'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cry. But the salons have given me the opportunity to look back and think about my life ... I don't talk to anyone about these feelings outside of the salon.' A book club without books. A key to the stories we all carry within us – wrenching, redemptive, extraordinary, laced with unexpected and hard-won wisdom. These are the stories that women tell each other when they gather for a deep and structured conversation – once a month in a suburban living room – about the things that really matter. They discover that life can be a heartbeat away from chaos; that bad things happen to good people; that good people do outrageous things; that the desire for transformation is enduringly human – painful and yet possible. A mother tells of the heartbreaking loss of control when her daughter develops anorexia. A sister reveals the high psychological cost of being hated by a sibling over the course of her life. Husbands leave wives; wives take lovers; friendships shatter; finances collapse; children defy parents; wrong choices turn out to be right ones; agency is lost and re-claimed. Profound, layered and clear-sighted, this collection of real-life stories reveals the emotional untidiness that lies below the shiny surface of modern life and reminds us of the power of real conversation to enlighten, heal and transform.