In the beginning there is a family. It is a very ordinary family, just like yours or mine - Ben, Rose and their three children. Then one morning, Ben leaves and Rose is left to face life alone. In the Beginning is the story of Rose and Ben's marriage before he leaves, and of how Rose struggles to re-invent her life when he has gone. Beautifully written with an almost artless simplicity, Catherine Dunne's novel is at once heartbreaking, inspiring, and very very true.