Many thanks to my friends at @putnam and @prhaudio for the #gifted copies of this book.  

 

ALL the STARS.  @mrstevenrowley has done it again!  He’s created another *must read* that’s equal parts heartwarming, heartbreaking, and hysterical.  

 

If I’m honest, I went into this book feeling hopeful yet anxious. The Guncle was my favorite read of 2021.  Rowley penned the perfect book for me at that perfect time.  Could he do it again?  A lot has changed in the last 2 years.  I’ve changed. 

 

But as I settled into this new narrative…  one focused on friendship, found family, and mortality… I realized that Rowley’s ability to connect has a universality to it and is as strong as ever.  Maybe even stronger.    <Shocked gasp>

It’s important to note: this is no Guncle.  This is a CELEBRATION.  And in as many ways as it’s different from Rowley’s 2021 bestseller, it’s also equally brilliant, poignant, and transforming. 

 

When tragedy strikes just before college graduation, a group of friends make a pact to come together in their most trying times to celebrate one another.  Twenty-eight years and a slew of “living funerals” later, the friends come together once again.   But this time might be a bit different.  

 

Likened to The Big Chill, Rowley celebrates the bonds of friendship and love through keen observations of living, aging, and dying.  Brimming with sentiment and steeped in wit, this is a feel-good romp that is wildly entertaining yet deeply heartfelt.  

 

Rowley wields a special kind of magic that allows a reader to simultaneously ponder their own mortality while laughing out loud.  There’s a warmth to his writing, one that supported me as I pondered and reflected.   And yet, the wit and snark enhanced my reflections in a manner that made the overall experience vividly real and wholly authentic. 

 

Bringing this full circle:  Could Rowley pen the perfect book for me a second time? Unequivocally, as though he knows my very soul…. YES!