Alice McDermott's 'Someone' threads the tapestry of an ordinary woman's life through a series of poignant and vivid memories. Marie's journey from childhood innocence to the complexity of adulthood unravels against the backdrop of her Irish-American community in Brooklyn. We encounter young Marie in spectacles, waiting for her father's return, and we follow her as she navigates first love, marriage, motherhood, and loss. McDermott's narrative vividly captures the essence of everyday existence, chronicling the events that shape Marie's personal growth, from her brother's crisis of faith to the ebb and flow of life during World War II. With a lyrical voice, the novelist illuminates our shared follies and the understated extraordinariness found within an 'ordinary' life.