Farewell to South Shore taps into and articulates a woman's emotions related to dealing with a changing society, particularly its expectations of women. Farewell to South Shore creates an instant rapport between the main character and the reader who has experienced change in her own life. It explores the sadness of dealing with divorce, single motherhood, a friend's abortion, a beloved cousin suffering from AIDS, changing mores, and the joys resulting from a loving family, rewarding career, finding new love in middle age, and making the world a better place. The book inspires perseverance and determination to help take charge of one's own life in a rapidly changing world-a world vastly different than the idyllic South Shore of the main character's youth.