First published 2018
Karen Neulander built her life around protecting six-year-old Jacob. As a successful New York political consultant and single mother, she raised him alone after his father Dave made clear he wanted no part of parenthood. Karen walked away from that relationship without telling Dave she planned to raise their child by herself. Now Karen is dying, and Jacob keeps asking about his father. When Karen finally contacts Dave, his reaction stuns her. He becomes ecstatic about discovering he has a son and immediately wants to meet Jacob. Dave quickly inserts himself into the boy's daily life, spending more and more time with him. Karen watches this unfold with growing alarm as her own strength fades and her connection to Jacob weakens. She knows what Jacob needs most from her is the one thing she struggles to give him: allowing his father to become a permanent presence in his life. Karen must navigate her final days while wrestling with the hardest decision any parent faces.
Genres: literary-fiction, contemporary, parenting, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: New York
Period: 21st-century
368 pages · Paperback · Algonquin Books
Content warnings: terminal-illness