Alabama native and bestselling author Fannie Flagg returns this summer with a new book, “Something to Look Forward To,” a collection of interconnected stories set for release Aug. 19 by Random House.

The book weaves together a series of tales about how people across the country face change, adversity and the unpredictable moments of everyday life. From Kansas to New York, from Arizona to Indiana, Flagg introduces a range of characters who meet life’s curveballs with creativity and heart.

Velma, a great-grandmother in Kansas, struggles to connect with younger generations. In Ithaca, New York, Helen takes bold action after her husband leaves her. In towns like Bent Fork, Wyoming, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and in cities like Tucson and Fort Wayne, ordinary people discover unexpected ways to endure and prevail.

Flagg wrote the book in response to fans who continued to write and ask when she would publish again.

“I wanted to write a book to make people feel good. A book about ordinary people and how they live their lives,” Flagg said in a news release.

With her trademark wit and compassion, Flagg offers stories that are often funny, sometimes poignant and always human. Whether through the perspective of a government agent in Fort Wayne trying to understand what makes people tick or through a small-town woman reinventing her life, each chapter highlights resilience in a rapidly changing world.

Flagg is the author of several bestselling novels, including “Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man,” “Welcome to the World, Baby Girl!” and “The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion.” She is best known for “Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe,” which she adapted into an Academy Award–nominated screenplay. The script also earned nominations from the Writers Guild of America and won the Scripter Award. She is a recipient of the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction.

In addition to her writing career, Flagg has appeared in television, film and theater.

“Something to Look Forward To” will be available wherever books are sold. For more information, visit www.penguinrandomhouse.com.