Always the Last to Know

Sometimes you have to break a family to fix it.

From New York Times bestselling author Kristan Higgins, a new novel examining a family at the breaking point—in all its messy, difficult, wonderful complexity.


The Frosts are a typical American family. Barb and John, married almost fifty years, are testy and bored with each other...who could blame them after all this time? At least they have their daughters-- Barb's favorite, the perfect, brilliant Juliet; and John's darling, the free-spirited Sadie. The girls themselves couldn't be more different, but at least they got along, more or less. It was fine. It was enough.

Until the day John had a stroke, and their house of cards came tumbling down.

Now Sadie has to put her career as a teacher and struggling artist in New York on hold to come back and care for her beloved dad--and face the love of her life, whose heart she broke, and who broke hers. Now Juliet has to wonder if people will notice that despite her perfect career as a successful architect, her perfect marriage to a charming Brit, and her two perfect daughters, she's spending an increasing amount of time in the closet having panic attacks.

And now Barb and John will finally have to face what's been going on in their marriage all along.

From the author of Good Luck with That and Life and Other Inconveniences comes a new novel of heartbreaking truths and hilarious honesty about what family really means.
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400 pages

Average rating: 7.2

10 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

JHSiess
Feb 03, 2024
8/10 stars
Always the Last to Know is the story of the evolution of a family. The family members have arrived at a crossroads. The status quo can no longer be maintained. As the story opens, John has just sustained a catastrophic injury. He suffered a stroke while riding his bicycle, struck his head when he fell, lost consciousness, and some time elapsed before he was discovered by a passerby. If not for that fact, his prognosis might be better. But at first, the physicians are not sure John will even survive. His family gathers around him, awaiting the outcome and pondering how it will impact their own lives.

Higgins employs both first and third-person narratives to reveal her characters' histories and emotions. Now 70 years old, Barb stays busy as the first selectman of Stoningham, Connecticut, a picturesque little town. Barb was a thrifty, stalwart Norwegian girl from Minnesota when she married into the wealthy, influential Frost family. She shares her perspective on her marriage to John, including their fertility struggles, the joy of finally having Juliet, and how she managed their home so that John could enjoy a successful career as a lawyer. She unabashedly acknowledges that Juliet has always been her favorite child, and the two of them remain extremely close, especially with Sadie off in New York still attempting to forge a career as an artist. After so many years, so many disappointments, and much consideration, Barb had decided to tell John, on their fiftieth wedding anniversary, that she planned to divorce him. They stopped doing things as a couple long ago and, Barb observes, John "didn't seem to care. We stopped talking almost completely. It was better than forcing a meaningless conversation." Now she finds herself at his bedside, shocked by the depth of her own grief, and struck for the first time by the fact that he has "old man hands" but on his finger remains "the ring I'd put on it fifty years ago." Barb doesn't know how long John's hands have looked old because she can't "remember the last time I'd noticed. We weren't the hand-holding type of couple." As she grips the bag she was handed containing John's belongings, including his telephone, a series of texts reveal the secret John has been keeping from her.

Juliet's story is presented in the third person. She has been experiencing panic attacks in recent weeks, brought on largely because of Arwen, the young architect she hired who is now attempting to usurp both her authority and acclaim. Juliet had never questioned her life choices, but now she's no longer sure she's on the right path and has an overwhelming urge to run away. Her knowledge of her parents' strained relationship adds to her consternation.

Sadie has been dating Alexander, a yacht salesman, for a couple of years and at the age of thirty-two is ready to take what seems to be the next logical step to formalize their relationship. Alexander is not as enthusiastic. Sadie has been supplementing her teaching income by creating couch paintings commissioned by an interior designer to complement the furnishing selections. Sadie knows that the paintings do not reflect her passion for art and are not representative of her true style, but they will generate income while Sadie puts her life on hold to return to Stoningham and care for the man who "had been my idol growing up -- always encouraging, upbeat and fun . . . not to mention the parent who actually liked me." Sadie has always known that her mother viewed her as "the lesser child in just about every measurable aspect except artistic ability . . ." While Juliet was her mother's child, Sadie has always been her dad's. And she is determined to help him recover, even when the doctors declare that various therapies have yielded as much improvement as can reasonably be anticipated. Her father can dress and feed himself, and ambulate, but he does not speak. Higgins includes glimpses into John's inner dialogue in his compromised condition -- his confusion, dismay, and urgent need to communicate important information to his family members are palpable and heart-breakingly effective.

Barb receives support and encouragement from her neighbor and true friend, Caro, a woman who has been "privy to just about all the issues and troubles and joys" Barb has ever experienced. Sadie's return to Stoningham means an inevitable reunion with Noah, the one great love of her life. But they never wanted the same things -- Sadie needed to leave home and seek to establish herself as an artist, while Noah was happy remaining in Stoningham, working as a carpenter. But she is not prepared for the myriad emotions she experiences not just at seeing Noah again, but learning that he has an adorable infant son that he co-parents with Mickey Watkins, their lesbian former classmate.

Higgins charts the developments in the Frost family as the months pass, with each of them striving to find equilibrium and balance both in their own life, as well as within their deeply dysfunctional family unit. With Caro's unwavering support, Barb reconciles the past with her current circumstances, and boldly confronts the secret John was keeping from her. Juliet strives to understand her own self-worth and strength, and Sadie is confronted with choices that will determine the course of her future. At long last, she must assess her values and desires, and determine what matters most to her, even as she has no choice but to accept John's circumstances. In order to move forward, both Sadie and Juliet must establish themselves as independent, empowered women who are comfortable in their own skin. And Barb must forgive herself, as well as John.

Higgins deftly and believably conveys her characters' circumstances and struggles. Each is flawed, all are relatable, and readers will no doubt glimpse themselves and their own family dynamics in their emotionally-charged interactions. Higgins' dialogue is snappy, authentic, and sometimes hilarious, especially where Barb's Minnesota upbringing informs her viewpoint and values, and as Sadie attempts to establish her own home in Stoningham rather than continue living in her childhood home with her parents.

Always the Last to Know provides a glimpse into one family's challenges in their relationships and dissatisfaction with the state of their individual lives. Higgins' convincingly demonstrates that families sometimes fall apart, especially in the aftermath of a serious injury or illness that forces a recalibration of each members' role and responsibilities. But families can be resilient, and with enough love, empathy, and forgiveness, can withstand unbelievably difficult times, emerging stronger and with the members more devoted to each other than ever before. Always the Last to Know is ultimately an uplifting exploration of that process -- a story fueled by hope, revelations, forgiveness, and empowerment.

Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book.
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