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?"