And Sometimes Why — Rebecca Johnson

From a contributing editor for Vogue, a pitch-perfect, funny, and poignant novel about the joy and heartache of how deeply one person's life can affect so many others.

With wit and warmth, first novel And Sometimes Why captures the fragile rhythm and unpredictable drama of family life. When Sophia and Darius say good-bye to their teenage daughters one unremarkable morning, they have no idea how permanently their family will be affected by a decision made around the breakfast table. One of the daughters will have a terrible accident, the other will meet a boy. Both events will change their lives forever. The accident will set in motion a chain of events involving Harry, the still handsome B-list celebrity host of a sadistic hit game show; Anton, a sexually repressed unemployed filmmaker; and Misty, who has reached month seven in what was supposed to be a six-month campaign to make something of herself. As Sophia and Darius cope with the impact of the accident on their relationship, their oldest daughter is faced with making a choice between seizing the day and hanging on to the past. All choose unexpected paths to the same conclusion. Profoundly honest, and rendered with a deft lightness of touch, And Sometimes Why is a novel about how quickly life can change and how we must learn to change with it.