A finalist for the 36th annual Amazonca First Novel Award The Combals are not unacquainted with death they have never quite recovered from the loss of one of them in childhood And now on Valentines Day they are losing another Guddy races to see her sister Jerry and Bjarne avoid the phone and its news Jean finds himself on a beach and Annie fends off her mothers persistent questions about whats happening And Therese tries to forgive them all before its too late As each is forced to face the news of Thereses impending death their actions weave a nuanced portrait of a family of the devastating reach of childhood grief What if thinking is all we have at the end of the day What if how we react really is all we can control This transcendent first novel from awardwinning poet Sina Queyras tells the story of childhood by illustrating six adult minds grappling with it noticing reaching loving and flailing