Three Stages of Amazement by Carol Edgarian

I really enjoyed this contemporary American novel, dealing with one woman's challenging life in San Francisco in the beginning of the Obama presidency. Lena's husband, Charlie Pepper, is a successful doctor who seeks to abandon his practice to sell his invention, a device that will allow him to perform surgery remotely.
He sacrifices home and the responsibilities there for this dream and risks losing his wife and family life.
A complication arises when Lena's uncle Cal Rusch offers venture capital to support Charlie's project; without this money, the project could die.  Lena despises her uncle with good reason. But I won't give that away, nor will I give away how the issue is resolved.
The Peppers have two interesting children who are demanding; Charlie has little to do with them, but Lena works to keep the home front stable despite Charlie's absence. The theme of the struggle of love vs money is ever present in this novel.
The characters are interesting and real and the challenges they face equally so.
The book is so rooted in the present tense; references to Bernie Madoff, the troubled economy, the Obama presidency, all make for a very relevant read!