"Alexandra Whitaker takes the tried-and-true story of man leaves wife and kids for other woman and gives it a refreshing twist. LEAVING SOPHIE DEAN succeeds brilliantly as a comedy of manners because of Whitaker's pitch-perfect depictions of human foibles and graceful renderings of awkward situations. But the book works on a much deeper level too: as a meditation on marriage, solitude, personal freedom, and parenting that is as thought-provoking as it is entertaining." (Meg Mitchell Moore, author of The Arrivals and So Far Away )