Jo-Nell McBroom heads out of the parking lot of the Starlight Lounge in a wheezy yellow Volkswagen, precariously balancing a tequila sunrise between her knees. Because she's paying more attention to her drinking than her driving, she fails to notice that she's fast approaching some railroad tracks and an oncoming train. She miraculously survives the accident, which serves as a summons home for her long-departed sister Freddie. No strangers to tragedy (the family resumeincludes suicide, electrocution, and drowning), the McBroom sisters cope with trauma in different ways: Jo-Nell has married so many times that her full name sounds like a law firm; Freddie has become an all-too-serious scholar with a string of college degrees; and third sister Eleanor stokes her fear of life by collecting scrapbooks of grisly crimes. This latest accident, however, becomes the impetus for them to face their fears and finally conquer them. West's brash, funny novel is immensely appealing, and it is both a paen to and a send-up of family bonds.