With Obscure Boundaries, S. F. Powell explores the isolation of grief and its impact on a family trying to heal. Psychiatrist, Dr. Naomi Alexander, is back and delving into territory close to home when she treats a family in mourning. Julia Winthrop has died, leaving her husband, Jeff, and their two children, Mallory and Todd, to carry on without her. When Jeff remarries, the Winthrops make a go at starting a new life with Ruth, but it isn't easy. There are sides to Ruth not apparent to all involved - except maybe Naomi. Mallory and her brother have a hard time accepting Ruth into the family, for good reason. Ruth is not at all interested in being a "mother" to her stepchildren, and while hiding this fact from Jeff, she has no problem showing one of the Winthrop children exactly where she stands.