The Year Abroad — J. Daniels

Lauren Stanton, a college professor from San Francisco, has just had her life turned upside down. Invited to spend a year abroad as a guest researcher at a university in London, she's thrilled at the prospect of enhancing her professional resume. Lauren plans every detail of the year, finding everything from a London flat to a part-time teaching position for her jobless husband. But she is devastated when, days before their plane leaves, her husband announces that he has no intention of following her. Instead, he has accepted a non-tenured position in Texas and wants a trial marriage separation. With the Atlantic facilitating silence between them, Lauren must admit to herself that limited communication and professional jealousy has made her marriage into a loveless competition. Unwilling to talk about her marriage with friends or family, Lauren turns to a brooding scientist for company. Before she can stop herself, Lauren is in love with two men and has to make a difficult choice: Does she try to work things out with her husband, even though he refuses to discuss the problems in their marriage? Or should she leave the security of a tenured university position for a chance at love with someone new?