Everything changed the night Daniel Kaufman died. The Kaufmans had the seemingly perfect family but all of that is shattered when a driver hits and kills Daniel. Now, Daniel's parents, Curtis and Kathleen, are separated and barely communicating while his sister, Olivia, experiences panic attacks and hides behind her all-black clothing. Time doesn't always heal the wounds as some wounds just fester... will the Kaufmans pull together or be forever separated?
THE FRAGILE WORLD is narrated by Olivia and Curtis, told through alternating chapters. I love that we get insight through their eyes as they offer a very honest and real insight to the trauma experienced after a death such as Daniel's. I laughed, I cried, and I grieved with the Kaufman family as they had to learn to cope with their loss. I could feel their heartache, their anger, and yes, even their numbness as the reality sets in that life will never be the same and time will always be divided into before and after Daniel's death.
Paula Treick DeBoard crafts an emotional and moving tale that shows just how much the death of a son or brother can change an entire family. I can't praise DeBoard enough for her superb conveyance of the emotional rollercoaster that grieving families experience after an unexpected death of a young person. DeBoard doesn't hesitate to show the darker side of grief and the desire for vengeance. THE FRAGILE WORLD is highly recommended and sure to evoke both tears and laughter as the reader is immersed in the Kaufman family's grieving process.
From the author of publishing sensation The Mourning Hours
comes a powerful new novel that explores every parent's
worst nightmare.
The Kaufmans have always considered themselves a normal,
happy family. Curtis is a physics teacher at a local high
school. His wife, Kathleen, restores furniture for upscale
boutiques. Daniel is away at college on a prestigious
music
scholarship, and twelve-year-old Olivia is a happy-go-
lucky
kid whose biggest concern is passing her next math test.
And then comes the middle-of-the-night phone call that
changes everything. Daniel has been killed in what the
police are calling a "freak" road accident, and the
remaining Kaufmans are left to flounder in their grief.
The anguish of Daniel's death is isolating, and it's not
long before this once-perfect family finds itself falling
apart. As time passes and the wound refuses to heal,
Curtis
becomes obsessed with the idea of revenge, a growing mania
that leads him to pack up his life and his anxious teenage
daughter and set out on a collision course to right a
wrong.
An emotionally charged novel, The Fragile World is a
journey
through America's heartland and a family's brightest and
darkest moments, exploring the devastating pain of losing
a
child and the beauty of finding healing in unexpected
ways.
No excerpt available.
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