First published 2010
Shep Knacker has spent years building his nest egg for "the Afterlife," his planned retirement on a cheap Tanzanian island where his savings will stretch forever. His wife Glynis keeps finding reasons to delay their departure. Fed up with her excuses, Shep delivers an ultimatum: he's leaving for Tanzania whether she comes or not. Then Glynis drops her bombshell. She's dying. Shep watches his carefully hoarded money drain away as medical bills pile up, his insurance covering only a fraction of the costs. His dream of escape crumbles under the weight of copays and treatments. But something unexpected happens as they face her illness together. The crisis that destroys their financial future begins to repair their fractured marriage. Shriver crafts a story that asks uncomfortable questions about the price of love and the value we place on life itself.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Tanzania
Period: 21st-century
436 pages · Hardcover · HarperCollins Publishers
Content warnings: terminal-illness