by Katherine May
First sentence: “The alarm sounds at six, and I rise from a sleep that never quite set in.”
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Release date: March 9, 2027
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Content: There is talk of sickness. It will be in the Religion and Philosophy section of the bookstore.

In her usual lyrical style, May tackles the months her husband was sick before he got a cancer diagnosis, and the way that caring for him and keeping their lives afloat took over her life. It’s a simple premise, and yet May – unsurprisingly – tackles it with honesty and humanity. She doesn’t sugarcoat her feelings – whether they be frustration or exhaustion or relief – and she makes the whole journey make sense. She weaves her severe arachnophobia and the way she handled it over the course of the months – since she no longer had her husband to run interference – as a metaphor. It’s a thoughtful book, one that resonated, even if I’ve never had to care for someone with a prolonged sickness. And I enjoyed that she didn’t try to come up with “morals” or “lessons” or “meaning” in all of this.

It’s a very human, very real book, and I appreciated that so very much.