First published 1990
Louise Cooper's death forces her family into uncharted emotional territory. Her husband and children must navigate grief while confronting long-buried tensions that her presence once held in check. Each family member responds differently to the loss. Some retreat into silence while others lash out in unexpected ways. Old resentments surface alongside tender memories. The Coopers discover that mourning reveals as much about the living as it does about the dead. Louise's absence becomes a presence that reshapes every relationship in the household. Her family must learn who they are without the woman who defined them for so long. Leavitt examines how death strips away pretense and forces families to confront their truest selves.
Genres: literary-fiction, american-fiction, 20th-century, contemporary, adult-fiction, family-drama
Vibes: emotional-atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: family-dynamics, grief
Period: 20th-century
288 pages · Paperback · HarperPerennial
Content warnings: death