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All I'm Asking

Teacher and single mom Naomi is always biting off more than she can chew. Naomi knows what it’s like to grow up in hard times and still manage a decent education, so when it comes to her online, at-promise (not “at-risk,” thank you very much) high school students, she goes the extra mile.

At the rate she’s going, though, she’ll need the mouth of a hippo to have a shot of chewing it all.

Except, her students aren’t the only ones who need her. Naomi’s best friend discovers her wife has a mysterious disease doctors can’t figure out how to diagnose, her daughter struggles with debilitating social anxiety, and her mother calls her repeatedly. From jail. When one of Naomi’s students shows up at her door, pregnant and homeless, Naomi can’t help but take her in. But Naomi’s hyper-involvement in her students’ lives results in her alienating the people she loves most.

Wondering how she’d gotten everything wrong, Naomi joins an online book club made up of sugar-addicted candy lovers. Her newfound friends help her to see her life through a different lens. With the members’ support, Naomi pieces her life back together, owns her mistakes, and discovers how true family wants everything you are instead of everything you’re not.

Narrated in a series of emails, texts, discussion forums, and other forms of communication, ALL I'M ASKING delves into the bonds of friendship and family, what can test it, and how we find our way back to strengthen those ties.

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Advance Praise

All I'm Asking explores complicated relationships, intersectionality, and the challenges of connection (and disconnection) in a digital world. With deft humor and a daring epistolary structure (executed with ease!), J. Marie Rundquist delivers a debut novel that will both entertain and spark thoughtful conversation. A true pleasure to read. ~ USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Klepper	Jennifer Klepper
Brilliantly told through a series of emails and texts, Rundquist brings to life the shortcomings of humanity in a manner so breathtakingly fresh you will be hard-pressed not to read the book in one sitting. Bravo! ~Barbara Conrey, USA Today Bestselling Author of Nowhere Near Goodbye	Barbara Conrey
All I'm Asking blends the realities of education, single parenthood and found family into a heartwarming journey through the life of one determined teacher. ~ Award-winning author Casey Dembowski	Casey Dembowski
This novel taught me that we can each form our own happy ending, family is whoever you want, and sometimes the people we need the most are already in our lives. ~Lainey Cameron, Award-winning and #1 Amazon Bestselling author of The Exit Strategy	Lainey Cameron
All I'm Asking is a heartfelt and original novel about family in all its forms. Rundquist tackles heartbreak, misunderstanding, and estrangement with a light and empathetic touch. This is one of those books that leaves your heart full and your hands eager to close the cover with a rewarding thunk. ~Kathleen West, author of Minor Dramas and Other Catastrophes, Are We There, Yet?, and Home or Away	Kathleen West