If Morning Ever Comes
Encyclopedia
If Morning Ever Comes is American
author Anne Tyler
's first novel, published when she was only 22.
Set in Sandhill
, North Carolina
, it focuses on Ben Joe Hawkes, a self-proclaimed worrier who finds himself responsible for taking care of his mother and five sisters after his father deserts the family for his mistress and subsequently dies of a heart attack.
At its start, Ben Joe has left Sandhill to pursue a law degree at Columbia University
; however, he soon learns that his eldest sister, Joanne, has left her husband and returned home with her baby girl. Out of a mixture of homesickness and a sense of responsibility, he returns home to assume his role as head of the family. Eventually, he realizes that his family may not need him as much as he needs his independence. Joanne and her husband are reconciled, and Ben Joe renews friendly relations with his late father's mistress. He proposes to his ex-girlfriend, Shelley, and the two return to New York to be married.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author Anne Tyler
Anne Tyler
Anne Tyler is an American novelist.Tyler, the eldest of four children, was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her father was a chemist and her mother a social worker. Her early childhood was spent in a succession of Quaker communities in the mountains of North Carolina and in Raleigh...
's first novel, published when she was only 22.
Set in Sandhill
Sandhill
A sandhill is a type of ecological community or xeric wildfire-maintained ecosystem. It is not the same as a sand dune. It features very short fire return intervals, one to five years. Without fire, sandhills undergo ecological succession and become more oak dominated.Entisols are the typical...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, it focuses on Ben Joe Hawkes, a self-proclaimed worrier who finds himself responsible for taking care of his mother and five sisters after his father deserts the family for his mistress and subsequently dies of a heart attack.
At its start, Ben Joe has left Sandhill to pursue a law degree at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
; however, he soon learns that his eldest sister, Joanne, has left her husband and returned home with her baby girl. Out of a mixture of homesickness and a sense of responsibility, he returns home to assume his role as head of the family. Eventually, he realizes that his family may not need him as much as he needs his independence. Joanne and her husband are reconciled, and Ben Joe renews friendly relations with his late father's mistress. He proposes to his ex-girlfriend, Shelley, and the two return to New York to be married.