A runaway bestseller in France, Sans Moi is the resonant story of two Parisian women: the narrator, a single mother and commerical writer struggling to bring up her young family, and Olivia, a recovering drug addict and one-time prostitute who loves children and desperately needs a job. When Olivia-on the face of it a highly unsuitable babysitter-moves in, trailing her chaotic past behind her, their lives collide with unexpected results.But life isn't just a question of the past, and people aren't simply products of their worst experiences. Confronted by the challenges of loneliness and change, the narrator realizes that Olivia has as much to give as she has needs of her own. In the year they live together, companionship, intimacy, and humor create a friendship full of vitality and mutual respect-as well as something of a family life.Marie Desplechin details this emotional terrain with a delicate grace and irony. At once desperate and hopeful, Sans Moi explores the curious nature of friendship and the complicated dynamics of learning how to love and be loved.