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Title details for Death and Other Happy Endings by Melanie Cantor - Wait list

Death and Other Happy Endings

A Novel

by Melanie Cantor
Hannah Curtis
Audiobook
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Wait time: About 2 weeks
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0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 2 weeks
There's nothing like being told that in three months you'll be dead to make you think about what you really want in life
"A novel about self-discovery, with plenty of surprises and a snappy, Bridget-Jones-gets-a-terminal-diagnosis vibe." -Booklist
Jennifer Cole has just been told that she has a terminal blood disorder and has just three months to live—ninety days to say goodbye to friends and family, and to put her affairs in order. Ninety days to come to terms with a diagnosis that is unfair, unexpected, and completely unpronounceable. Focusing on the positives (she won't have to go on in a world without Bowie or Maya Angelou; she won't get Alzheimer's or Parkinson's like her parents, or have teeth that flop out at the mere mention of the word apple), Jennifer realizes she only has one real regret: the relationships she's lost.
Rather than running off to complete a frantic bucket list, Jennifer chooses to stay put and write a letter to the three most significant people in her life, to say the things she wished she'd said before but never dared: her overbearing, selfish sister, her jelly-spined, cheating ex-husband, and her charming, unreliable ex-boyfriend—and finally tell them the truth.
At first, Jennifer feels cleansed by her catharsis. Liberated, even. Her ex-boyfriend rushes to her side and she even starts to build bridges with her sister Isabelle (that is, once Isabelle's confirmed that Jennifer's condition isn't genetic). But once you start telling the truth, it's hard to stop. And as Jennifer soon discovers, the truth isn't always as straightforward as it seems, and death has a way of surprising you....

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    July 9, 2019

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781984889539
      • File size: 309809 KB
      • Duration: 10:45:26

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      May 6, 2019
      Cantor’s accomplished debut tracks one woman’s reaction to a fatal prognosis. Jennifer Cole, 43, has been told by her doctor that she has an “osis”—Jennifer won’t speak the full name of the disease, but it’s a blood disorder that will take her life in three months. At her best friend Olivia’s suggestion, Jennifer contacts three people who have become detached from her life: her snarky sister, Isabelle; her philandering ex-husband, Andy; and her (also philandering) ex-boyfriend, Harry. Stepping far outside her comfort zone of passivity, Jennifer writes each of them a letter telling them of her prognosis and laying her hurt feelings bare, and she’s surprised by the amount of time that passes before any of them respond. She finally hears from Isabelle, and the sisters find a closeness they never knew would be possible. Harry does call, bringing the possibility of reignited love, and when Andy finally comes around, Jennifer learns just how relieved she is that he’s her ex. Twists push the story in intriguing directions, and the clever, personable voice of Jennifer is like that of a witty friend with a bad news/good news story to tell, resulting in a moving novel with a surprisingly playful edge.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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