Read by Grover Gardner

Both intimate and expansive, Rafael Yglesias' autobiographical new novel is the story of the relationship between Enrique Sabas and his wife, Margaret. Spanning thirty years, the novel alternates between the romantic misadventures of the first weeks of their courtship and the final months of Margaret's life as she says good-bye to her family, friends, and children-and to Enrique. Inspired by the author's own marriage to his wife who died in 2004, this achingly honest story is about what it means for two people to spend a lifetime together-and what makes a happy marriage. Bold, elegiac, and emotionally suspenseful, Yglesias' beautiful novel will break every reader's heart, while encouraging all of us with its clear-eyed evocation of the enduring value of marriage. "Grover Gardner renders complex emotions to fine effect and rejects any temptation to infuse his narration with an inappropriate sentimentality. This is a stunning combination of clear-eyed writing and a compelling voice…Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award." "Will both touch and break hearts." "Brave…instantly compelling." "A profound deliberation on the nature of love, marriage and the process of dying…A tour de force…[Yglesias] has found the novel of his life." "This is, fundamentally, the story of a happy marriage. But it's not simple, because marriage-like love-isn't static. And Enrique is ruthlessly honest in his quest to figure out what made his last…The mystery of what's at the heart of a marriage can't be unlocked, or even fully captured in words. But Enrique and Margaret are anything but common, distinct both as characters and in the endurance of their love." "Maybe marriage is the oldest story in the world, but in Mr. Yglesias' tender, funny, rueful telling, the lifelong relationship is the story of life itself." "I can't think of many examinations of long-term marriages in modern novels, and that alone makes Rafael Yglesias' surprising and deeply affecting new work stand out. What's more, it's clearly autobiographical, yet deals evenhandedly with deeply painful subjects, which makes it a very brave book indeed." "[A] devastatingly raw appraisal of a nearly 30-year " "Audie Award-winner Grover Gardner skillfully conveys the small and large tensions and drama that encapsulate this and most every other long-term relationship. For appreciators of literary fiction interested in more deeply exploring the subjects of relationships, cancer, death, and dying." "[A] superb and courageous writer…Yglesias' riveting portrait of enduring love, with all its grand imperfections, manages a tricky literary feat: warming your heart as he breaks it."

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