In this touching memoir, Maynard (To Die For; At Home in the World) chronicles her second marriage. She beautifully renders the joy of falling in love later in life and the pain of watching her husband die of pancreatic cancer. In her late 50s, after two decades of being single, Maynard met Jim, who she soon felt was the love of her life. On their first date, she opened up to him about problems from her past: in spite of her successful career as a writer, she suffered loneliness when her children grew up and left the house, and she attempted to fill the void by adopting two Ethiopian children. After a tumultuous period in which she tried to readapt to motherhood, she relinquished the children to another family. Jim's response was to comfort her, and with a sense of joy and an immediate connection, they embarked on travels abroad and got married. They bought a home together and the future looked promising until he was diagnosed with a terminal cancer. Throughout this memoir of love, illness, and grief, Maynard shares how she and Jim coped with his frequent hospital visits, intense surgery, and medications. Maynard's heartfelt story will resonate with those who have lost loved ones to cancer. Agent: Nicole Tourtelot, DeFiore and Co. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

*Starred Review* In Erich Segal's indelible novel Love Story (1970), cancer tragically ends a great romance. Maynard (Under the Influence, 2016) could have used the same title for her latest memoir. Previously unlucky in love, the prolific journalist and author falls hard for a handsome, nice lawyer named Jim Barringer and, at 59, marries him. Both are divorced parents with three kids, and both share a dark sense of humor. Unfortunately, they don't get to live happily ever after; soon after their first wedding anniversary, Jim is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Over 18 months, he wastes away to 90 pounds. Still, he rallies to go to a Bob Dylan concert with Joyce with help from a team of old hippie nurses called Rock Medicine. Maynard isn't afraid to tell the truth. At one point, she gives Jim extra morphine, thinking he wouldn't want to hang on this way, and hospice reports her to the police. He keeps living, though, and Joyce keeps lying next to him in bed every night. At 64, 1,647 days after they met, he dies in his sleep. Expect Maynard's powerful descriptions to linger. This haunting story, penned by a master wordsmith, is a reminder to savor every loved one and every day.--Springen, Karen Copyright 2017 Booklist