Rest of Our Lives

By: Ben Markovits

Published by S&S/Summit Books, 2026-01-13

<b><b>FINALIST FOR THE 2025 BOOKER PRIZE</b><br> <br><b>“[<i>The Rest of Our Lives</i>] feels like one of those books that, as you read, makes you think, ‘Why aren’t all novels like this?’” —<i>The Critic</i></b><br> <br> <b>“Reading Ben Markovits’s gentle, powerful, and funny novel, we are reminded that family love can ground us and keep us together." —<i>The Times Literary Supplement</i></b><br> <br> <b>A triumphantly life-affirming road trip novel about a man at a crossroads in his life.</b></b><br><br>When Tom Layward’s wife had an affair twelve years ago, he resolved to leave her as soon as his youngest child left the nest. Now, while driving his college-bound daughter to Pittsburgh, he remembers his promise to himself. He is also on the run from his own health issues and a forced leave from work.<br> <br> So, rather than returning to his wife in Westchester, Tom keeps driving west, with the vague plan of visiting people from his past—an old college friend, his ex-girlfriend, his brother, his son—en route, maybe, to California. He’s moving towards a future he hasn’t even envisioned yet while he considers his past and the choices he’s made that have brought him to this particular present. Pitch-perfect, tender, and keenly observed, <i>The Rest of Our Lives</i> is a story about what to do when the rest of your life is only just the beginning of your story.