AN OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK

"Extraordinary. . . . This novel about marriage and friendship and life and dying is a marvel."— Elin Hilderbrand

“A moving meditation on love’s many forms and how a marriage can surprise you—right to the end.” —People Magazine

What if your partner’s dying wish broke your heart?

How well do we know the deepest wishes of those we love dearly?

Eliot and his wife, Claire, have been happily married for nearly four decades. They’ve raised two children in their sleepy Connecticut town and have weathered the unavoidable ups and downs of a long life spent together. But eight years after Claire was diagnosed with cancer, the end is near, and she makes an unexpected request that leaves Eliot reeling. Confronted by a profound turning point in his marriage and his life, Eliot grapples with the man and husband he’s been, in a novel that explores the precious gifts and unexpected costs of truly loving someone, and the fears and desires we experience as the end of life draws near.

“Skillfully surprising…We stay in the mystery of this couple, with its shades and shifts. And in the final pages, with their small, quiet turns, we have the readerly satisfaction of a good ending, that elusive and beckoning goal.”—The New York Times

"Packer sketches the nuances of [Claire and Eliot's] love with a devastating sharpness, poignantly exploring the challenges of facing death with grace."—The Washington Post