by Anne Tyler
First published 2012
Aaron lives with a crippled right arm and leg, still defending himself against his managing sister after all these years. When he married Dorothy, a plain woman who spoke her mind and needed no one to take care of her, she brought him the first real peace he had known. Their marriage settled into comfortable routines until the day a tree crashed through their house and killed Dorothy instantly. Aaron feels like he has disappeared along with her. Then Dorothy starts showing up again. She appears in their house, walks beside him on the street, stands next to him in the grocery store. These visits from his dead wife slowly teach Aaron how to live in the present moment again. He works at his family's vanity publishing company, printing guides that promise to help beginners navigate life's challenges. Now Aaron must figure out if this beginner can learn the hardest lesson of all.
Genres: romance, literary-fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional-atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: grief, second-chance
198 pages · Hardcover · Knopf
Content warnings: death