In the Event of Death - by Kimberly Young (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Planning a memorial with flowers, music, and food isn't that different from a wedding, right? But Liz has had a crippling fear of death since losing her younger sister in a childhood tragedy. Knowing her husband and twin sons depend on her income, she reluctantly agrees to produce end-of-life events. As Gabbi promised, the money starts rolling in. When an old real estate tycoon hires them to plan his 'after party, ' Liz finds an unlikely mentor. Just as things are looking up, she learns that someone she loves has a serious illness. Death planning gets personal"--

Book Synopsis

"In this poignant story, Kimberly Young explores one woman's struggle to come to terms with a childhood trauma that threatens to cripple her just when her family needs her the most. In the Event of Death will challenge the way you think about death, and make you laugh and cry while you rejoice in a family's resilience."
--Tracey Lange, New York Times bestselling author of We Are the Brennans

When the Recession crushes their splashy event business in Silicon Valley, Liz Becker and Gabbi Rossi realize that parties are on hold--but funerals must go on.

Planning a memorial with flowers, music, and food isn't that different from a wedding, right? But Liz has had a crippling fear of death since losing her younger sister in a childhood tragedy. Knowing her husband and twin sons depend on her income, she reluctantly agrees to produce end-of-life events. As Gabbi promised, the money starts rolling in. When an old real estate tycoon hires them to plan his "after party," Liz finds an unlikely mentor. Just as things are looking up, she learns that someone she loves has a serious illness. Death planning gets personal.

Review Quotes

"In the Event of Death is that rare novel that is both hilarious and heartbreaking. Young perfectly captures the angst of middle age in this beautifully written story where one woman--sandwiched between her unpredictable teenagers and ailing parents--realizes she can't hold everything together and might as well embrace the messiness of life."--Malena Watrous, author of If You Follow Me

"In this poignant story, Kimberly Young explores one woman's struggle to come to terms with a childhood trauma that threatens to cripple her just when her family needs her the most. In the Event of Death will challenge the way you think about death and make you laugh and cry while you rejoice in a family's resilience."--Tracey Lange, New York Times bestselling author of We Are the Brennans

"The characters are well realized, with lives that are plausible in today's world. The Bay Area setting contributes to the overall storytelling. This is a nice addition to a women's-fiction collection and would be a good book-club title."--Danise Hoover, Booklist

About the Author

Born in the Midwest and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Kimberly Young received her MFA from Stanford University where she was a Wallace Stegner Creative Writing Fellow. She began her career as an advertising copywriter and marketing consultant and worked with clients ranging from startups to Apple. In the Event of Death is her debut novel, set in the suburbs of Silicon Valley. Kim and her husband have three grown children and split their time between California and the mountains of Idaho