The Goodbye Year
Melanie, a perfectionist mom who views the approaching end of parenting as a type of death, can’t believe she has only one more year to live vicariously through her slacker senior son, Dane.
Gorgeous mom Sarah has just begun to realize that her only daughter, Ashley, has been serving as a stand-in for her traveling husband, and the thought of her daughter leaving for college is cracking the carefully cultivated façade of her life.
Will and his wife are fine―as long as he follows the instructions on the family calendar and is sure to keep secret his whole other life with Lauren, the woman he turns to for fun (and who also happens to have a daughter in the senior class).
Told from the points of view of both the parents and the kids, The Goodbye Year explores high school peer pressure, what it’s like for young people to face the unknown of life after high school, and how a transition that should be the beginning of a couple’s second act together―empty nesting―might possibly be the end.
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Praise & Reviews
“Kaira Rouda provides a delicious glimpse into an affluent, dysfunctional community that feels so real it borders on voyeurism. Light-hearted and ultimately optimistic, The Goodbye Year also tackles weighty issues, including infidelity, homosexuality, and alcoholism, creating a compelling and highly entertaining novel. If you’re a fan of reality television, you’ll love The Goodbye Year.”
~ Lori Nelson Spielman, author of The Life List
“Rouda deftly examines the difficult transition parents and their children face as they prepare for the end of one life and the beginning of another. Her latest is a compelling story and a thoughtful examination of the nature of change and the importance of working to accept it.”
~ Booklist
“The family dramas and dynamics are things that we can all relate to…”
~ Redbook magazine
“Kaira Rouda channels Peyton Place meets The Real Housewives of Orange County with her newest book, The Goodbye Year.”
~ Working Mother magazine