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When the 2008 Recession crushes their splashy events business in Silicon Valley, Liz Becker and Gabbi Rossi pivot to producing funerals and memorials—praying that death can breathe new life into their venture and keep their families afloat.
Liz Becker and Gabbi Rossi realize that parties are on hold but funerals must go on. Planning a memorial with flowers, music, and food isn’t much different from a wedding, right? But Liz has had a crippling death phobia since losing her younger sister in a childhood tragedy. With her husband and twin sons depending on her income, Liz reluctantly agrees to produce end-of-life events and the money starts to roll in.
But Liz soon discovers that planning memorials has much higher stakes than producing weddings and parties—especially when the dearly departed is someone she knows. When a family member becomes ill, death planning gets personal and Liz must face her fears and uncover secrets from the past about her sister’s death.
Praise
“In the Event of Death boldly confronts things that people fear most: a financial crisis that strains family relationships, secrets from the past that haunt the present, and a serious illness with an uncertain outcome. From the lens of a woman who holds multiple and relatable roles: daughter, mother, wife, sister, friend, and businesswoman…Kimberly Young shows us how to look these fears straight in the eye with a playfulness that lands in hope. We can all learn from this deeply human book, especially about the healing balm of forgiveness, and how we can choose to create beauty in times of great loss. Its messages are as refreshing and redemptive as they are essential.”
—Laura Munson, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of This Is Not The Story You Think It Is, and Willa’s Grove
“When the 2008 financial crisis hits Liz Becker’s upscale event planning business, her partner is certain that a shift to planning memorials will save their Silicon Valley business. But it isn’t so simple: Liz hasn’t been able to set foot in a funeral or face anything death-related since the loss of her little sister decades ago. This isn’t a story about parties or funerals or financial crises. Kim Young has beautifully crafted a compelling and heartfelt story about how we say goodbye and how we remember those we love. It is ultimately a story about family connection, about healing from loss, and about facing life’s deepest uncertainty with courage and hope.”
—Joani Elliott, author of The Audacity of Sara Grayson
“A nice addition to a women’s-fiction collection and would be a good book club title.”
— Danise Hoover, Booklist Review
“In this poignant story, Kimberly Young explores one woman’s struggle to come to terms with a childhood trauma that threatens to cripple her just when her family needs her the most. In the Event of Death will challenge the way you think about death, and make you laugh and cry while you rejoice in a family’s resilience.”
—Tracey Lange, New York Times bestselling author of We Are the Brennans
In The Event of Death is that rare novel that is both hilarious and heartbreaking. Young perfectly captures the angst of middle age in this beautifully written story where one woman—sandwiched between unpredictable teenagers and ailing parents—realizes she can’t hold everything together and might as well embrace the messiness of life.
—Malena Watrous, author of If You Follow Me