A Martin Cruz Smith Award for Emerging Diverse Voices Finalist in the CALIBA 2024 Golden Poppy Book Awards * “This debut novel breaks all the rules…capturing loss in all its belligerent rage and raw humor.” —Oprah Daily * “Full of heart.” —PureWow * A tender, wry, and shamelessly honest novel following a Japanese widow raising her son between worlds with the help of her Jewish mother-in-law as she wrestles with grief, loss, and—strangest of all—joy. Shortly after her husband Levi’s untimely death, Kyoko decides to raise their young son, Alex, in San Francisco, rather than return to Japan. Her nosy yet loving Jewish mother-in-law, Bubbe, encourages her to find new love and abandon frugality but her own mother wants Kyoko to celebrate her now husbandless life. Always beside her is Alex, who lives confidently, no matter the circumstance. Four sections of vignettes reflect Kyoko’s fluctuating emotional states—sometimes.