Synopsis

The Last Thing He Told Me meets Fleishman Is in Trouble in this page-turning story of a couple who flee winter in the Midwest for Palm Springs, where they find their relationship at a crossroads.

Kim and Grant are at a turning point. A couple for thirty years, their “separate but together” partnership is running up against the realities of late middle age: Grant’s mother has died, the college where he taught philosophy was shuttered, and their twin girls are grown and gone. Escaping the bitter cold of a Midwestern winter for the hot desert sun of Palm Springs seems as good a solution as any to the more intractable problems they face.

When they arrive at Le Desert, a quirky condo community where everyone knows everyone’s business, Kim immediately embraces the opportunity to make new friends and explore a more adventurous side of her personality. Meanwhile, Grant struggles to find his footing in this unfamiliar landscape, leaving Kim to wonder if their relationship can survive the snowbird season. But when Grant goes missing on a hike in the Palm Springs mountains, Kim is forced to consider two terrifying outcomes: either Grant is truly lost, or this time he’s really left her.

Is it ever too late to become the person we wanted to be—and is there still time to change into someone better? The exhilarating, but often confusing transitions of midlife are pitched against the promise and glamour of Palm Springs in this tender, honest story of what it takes to commit to someone for a lifetime. With compassion and humor, Clancy explores the redemptive power of finding ourselves, and of being found.

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Review

This novel is about discovering who you are by yourself and with others. It is about accepting that life does not follow a defined path but ebbs and flows. Be fluid with the journey.

This story is told during two timelines. The lines do intersect, but it is the past catching up with the present that brings this story together. Kim and Grant are “snowbirding” in Palm Springs at the home of Kim’s first husband. This is an experience for Kim and Grant, and the other snowbirds and residents they meet are a unique bunch of individuals. However, it is just what they need to discover who they are after some changes back home. The “past” chapters give us depth into the characters and their situation. The “present” chapters focus on a search for Grant, who has gotten lost in the mountains on a hike. Is Grant lost, or did he disappear after an argument with Kim?

I would consider this book women’s fiction with a hint of a mystery, mainly regarding Grant’s disappearance. I found myself relating to their relationship and how they processed their emotions and interactions, yet still loved each other deep down and did not want to lose that after thirty years. There are times when Kim and Grant really connect, but then there are other times when neither can seem to say the right thing. We all have moments like that.

I thought that sometimes the “past” timeline dragged, and there was too much information to process. It does provide a foundation for Kim and Grant and their relationship, but sometimes, I felt like it went on too long. I was more invested in the search for Grant and whether they would find him in time.

Melody, Kim’s former mother-in-law, is an interesting character. She is wealthy beyond imagination and loves to name-drop. However, she is the kind of person who doesn’t know how to manage her life independently now that she is a widow. This is where Kim comes in, and while she initially told Basil (her ex) that she would check in on Melody, they become friends and it is more about their relationship away from Basil.

I enjoyed reading this novel and found it a cautionary tale for anyone in a relationship not to take it for granted.

We give this book 4 paws up.

About the Author

Christina Clancy is the author of Shoulder Season and The Second Home. Her short stories and essays have appeared in The New York Times “Modern Love” column, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Sun Magazine, and in literary journals like Glimmer Train Stories, Hobart, Pleiades, The Minnesota Review and on Wisconsin Public Radio. She has a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and formerly taught English at Beloit College.

Born in Denver and raised in Milwaukee, she currently lives with her very tall husband and very small dog in Madison, Wisconsin, and in Palm Springs, California.

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