The Leftovers Club

THE LEFTOVERS CLUBEvery Sunday at 7PM, a group of strangers meets in the back room of a sleepy diner in upstate New York.The rules are simple:You can't bring anyone you already knowYou must bring one dish and one storyNo phones allowedThey call themselves The Leftovers Club-a ragtag collection of oddballs who show up with Tupperware and baggage, literal and emotional.Miriam Blumenthal, a 72-year-old recent widow who never learned to cook during her 47-year marriage, burns everything she attempts. Luis Mendoza, a 42-year-old single father and elementary school art teacher, keeps cooking for two despite his daughter leaving for college. Georgia Pembrook, a 35-year-old former food critic in hiding after a devastating professional scandal, brings technically perfect dishes that lack soul. And Calvin "Cal" Patterson, the silent night janitor, creates stunning culinary masterpieces he never tastes.When the diner's longtime owner falls ill and developers threaten to replace it with upscale tourist attractions, these unlikely friends band together to save it-combining their professional skills, personal connections, and growing friendship to preserve not just a building, but the heart of their community.What starts as a way to share leftovers becomes something much bigger: A chosen family. A path to healing. And the realization that it's never too late to start a new recipe for living.A warm, witty novel about second chances, the courage of showing up, and the healing power of sharing food with strangers who become family.