SOURCE: MacLachlan, Suzanne L. “A Mother's Struggle, A Daughter's Sacrifice.” Christian Science Monitor 86, no. 234 (27 October 1994): 13.

In the following review, MacLachlan concludes that the second half of Quindlen's One True Thing falters and that the author is best when she focuses on the relationship between the mother and daughter.

About the time that her second novel, One True Thing, was published, Anna Quindlen announced she was giving up her job as a nationally syndicated columnist for the New York Times to devote herself full time to fiction writing. Quindlen is expected to leave her job at the end of the year, and though her columns will undoubtedly be missed, fiction readers have reason to celebrate.

As a columnist, Quindlen is known for tackling tough, often deeply personal topics with compassion and insight. If One True Thing is any indication, we can expect the same of her future novels.

One...