First published 2024
Abigail Thomas settles into her sunny corner chair with three dogs at her side as she turns eighty. The pandemic has changed her world. No more driving or dancing. Her days now revolve around watching bugs and birds through her window and letting memories wash over her. Time moves strangely in this quieter life. One moment she sits with her canine companions, the next she's transported back to her twenties in Washington Square Park, drinking and falling in love, believing the world could be better. Decades collapse as she observes a spider that becomes her weeklong companion. When dread creeps into her body like a shadow, she writes her way through it. She pays attention to whatever catches her eye or lodges in her brain. These small moments anchor her to the present. Thomas transforms the seemingly mundane details of her confined existence into something rich and funny. Her wisdom emerges through humor as she navigates this new phase of life, finding meaning in the ordinary rhythms of aging.
Genres: adult-fiction, memoir, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, slice-of-life
Period: 21st Century
240 pages · Paperback · Simon and Schuster Audio