First published 2018
Joyce Maynard believed she was finished with marriage when she met Jim in her late fifties. He wore a distinctive hat and asked genuine questions. He celebrated her success and tolerated her kitchen chaos. Neither had planned to marry again, but Jim became the true partner Joyce had always wanted. Joyce maintained her fierce independence even after their wedding. Then doctors diagnosed Jim with pancreatic cancer just past their first anniversary. Over the next nineteen months, Joyce learned what real partnership meant as they fought his disease together. She discovered love's true nature through watching it slip away. The book follows their rapid courtship, brief marriage, and Joyce's journey back to being single on different terms. This memoir explores how great loss can reveal the deepest truths about connection and partnership.
Genres: contemporary, memoir, relationships, non-fiction, biography-memoir, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, second-chance
437 pages · Paperback · Bloomsbury Publishing
Content warnings: terminal-illness