The Half-Life of Everything

July 1, 2018
Many years of wedded bliss already behind them, David and Kate were happy to be empty nesters once their sons, Dylan and Jack, left for college. Sadly, the family nest becomes even emptier when Kate is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's and moves into an assisted-living facility. David and the boys muddle through, navigating reams of insurance paperwork, visiting Kate, and continuing on with their lives as best they can, but their pain is palpable. Though David knows his marriage is entirely changed, he feels guilty when he senses sparks with another woman. Jane understands David's complicated situation, but when Kate starts showing signs of improvement on a new drug regimen, everything becomes even more convoluted. Gang's probing and emotional novel about loss, recovery, and renewal follows a messily imperfect family through some of the most difficult and rewarding years of their lives. Her grounded prose echoes the weight of the family's hardest decisions, with a style reminiscent of Anne Tyler and Diane Chamberlain. Full of life and love, Gang's debut novel is heartwarming and genuine.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)