Synopses & Reviews
In
The Rest of Her Life, Laura Moriarty delivers a luminous, compassionate, and provocative look at how mothers and daughters with the best intentions can be blind to the harm they do to one another.
Leigh is the mother of high-achieving, popular high school senior Kara. Their relationship is already strained for reasons Leigh does not fully understand when, in a moment of carelessness, Kara makes a mistake that ends in tragedy the effects of which not only divide Leigh's family, but polarize the entire community. We see the story from Leigh's perspective, as she grapples with the hard reality of what her daughter has done and the devastating consequences her actions have on the family of another teenage girl in town, all while struggling to protect Kara in the face of rising public outcry.
Like the best works of Jane Hamilton, Jodi Picoult, and Alice Sebold, Laura Moriarty's The Rest of Her Life is a novel of complex moral dilemma, filled with nuanced characters and a page-turning plot that makes readers ask themselves, "What would I do?"
Review
"Moriarty's honest novel about an ordinary family whose life changes in one extraordinary moment resonates like an emotional tuning fork." Jodi Picoult
Review
"This is not a cheery book. Nor is it a superficial one. It is an intelligent, provocative and memorable novel." Kansas City Star
Review
"Powerful, original, and utterly absorbing, Moriarty's novel will stay with the reader long after the final page is turned." Booklist
Review
"Moriarty...is a blunt, honest scout. She strips away the detritus of deceit, leaving behind the unavoidable truth that follows." Library Journal
Review
"Fortunately, in this novel where death and guilt haunt the characters, Ms. Moriarty includes humor." Dallas Morning News
Review
"Although this novel could have degenerated into a cliche of mother-daughter angst, it doesn't, primarily because of Moriarty's action-packed writing style and her convincing characters." Baltimore Sun
Synopsis
With the publication of her first novel, The Center of Everything, Laura Moriarty was praised for her keen insights into the human condition, the wisdom of her characters, and her poignant and clear-sighted prose. With The Rest of Her Life, Moriarty's reputation as a novelist to watch is cemented, as she delivers a luminous, provocative, and ultimately redemptive look at how even mothers and daughters with the best intentions can be blind to the harm they do to each other.
About the Author
Laura Moriarty received her master's degree from the University of Kansas, and was awarded the George Bennett Fellowship for Creative Writing at Phillips Exeter Academy. Her first novel was The Center of Everything. She lives in Lawrence, Kansas.