First published 2008
Pat Peoples has spent years in a neural health facility. He believes God is producing his life like a movie. His theory centers on silver linings. He thinks becoming physically fit and emotionally supportive will bring back his estranged wife Nikki. Pat moves in with his parents. Nobody discusses Nikki with him. His old friends have moved on with families. The Philadelphia Eagles keep losing games, which makes his father irritable. His therapist suggests adultery as treatment. Pat meets Tiffany, a widow struggling with depression. She proposes a deal. She will communicate with Nikki for him. In exchange, Pat must stop watching football, partner with her in the Dance Away Depression competition, and keep their arrangement secret. Pat agrees but continues seeking his silver lining. The story unfolds through his distorted but sincere perspective as he navigates love, mental illness, and the gap between his expectations and reality.
Genres: romance, mental-illness, contemporary, contemporary-romance
Vibes: emotional-atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Philadelphia
Period: 21st-century
244 pages · Kindle Edition · Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Content warnings: depression, mental-illness