What do you think?
Rate this book
The Rest of Our Lives: A Novel
Not yet published
Expected 9 Feb 27NATIONAL BESTSELLER
“Expect insight, wit, and surprises.” —People
“Deeply human...a beautifully quiet and devastating book.” —Sarah Jessica Parker
A triumphantly life-affirming road trip novel about marriage, middle-age, and a man at a crossroads in his life.
When Tom Layward’s wife had an affair twelve years ago, he resolved to leave her as soon as his youngest child left the nest. Now, while driving his college-bound daughter to Pittsburgh, he remembers his promise to himself. He is also on the run from his own health issues and a forced leave from work.
So, rather than returning to his wife in Westchester, Tom keeps driving west, with the vague plan of visiting people from his past—an old college friend, his ex-girlfriend, his brother, his son—en route, maybe, to California. He’s moving towards a future he hasn’t even envisioned yet while he considers his past and the choices he’s made that have brought him to this particular present.
Pitch-perfect, “sweet, and intimate” (NPR), The Rest of Our Lives is a story about what to do when the rest of your life is only just the beginning of your story.
“Expect insight, wit, and surprises.” —People
“Deeply human...a beautifully quiet and devastating book.” —Sarah Jessica Parker
A triumphantly life-affirming road trip novel about marriage, middle-age, and a man at a crossroads in his life.
When Tom Layward’s wife had an affair twelve years ago, he resolved to leave her as soon as his youngest child left the nest. Now, while driving his college-bound daughter to Pittsburgh, he remembers his promise to himself. He is also on the run from his own health issues and a forced leave from work.
So, rather than returning to his wife in Westchester, Tom keeps driving west, with the vague plan of visiting people from his past—an old college friend, his ex-girlfriend, his brother, his son—en route, maybe, to California. He’s moving towards a future he hasn’t even envisioned yet while he considers his past and the choices he’s made that have brought him to this particular present.
Pitch-perfect, “sweet, and intimate” (NPR), The Rest of Our Lives is a story about what to do when the rest of your life is only just the beginning of your story.
240 pages, Paperback
Expected publication February 9, 2027
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
Review of advance copy
I'm not sure how I feel about this book. I'm not sure he had in mind the feelings it sparked in me. Maybe it's because I'm the same age, and an empty nester, and I am experiencing the phase different, but... It made me sad that their marriage was horrible, that he was visiting old friends and everyone seemed to have sad lives.... And then he's sick. It was a depressing view of life and getting older.
Review of advance copy
Was a good read!
Review of advance copy
Easy to read portrait of middle life… your kids are gone and now what?
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews