I realized after I wrote this book that it’s the flip side of Ordinary People: this is how a family copes with death and comes out the other side whole and at peace. Not an easy task in any society, but ours is an especially complicated one, with its emphasis on materialistic success coupled with an idealized view of morality. A wife loses her husband and her children lose a father; they have to somehow learn to live without him and still be a family, to pull together instead of being separated by their grief. This is my most autobiographical novel; my grandfather died of heart failure when my father, the eldest of the five children, was ten years old. He instantly became the ‘man of the family’, never had a chance to grieve as a little kid. My grandmother had to find a job during the Great Depression and work to support them all. She and her sister moved in together and the two of them raised the five children. This is the Guest family myth. I set this novel in modern day and fictionalized it, but it’s still their story. It’s also what writers do: “Now, I’ll write this up and it’ll come out the way I want it to!” One of the great things about being a novelist.


Critical Acclaim

“I will always admire writers like Judith Guest, who dare to illuminate the small moment…” Meg Wolitzer, critic

“Once again it becomes clear that, in her understanding of the troubled landscape of American family life, Judith Guest has few equals. Her wisdom runs deep, her touch is graceful and flawless, and her tone is absolutely sure.” Reeve Lindbergh