04/25/2022
A terminally ill septuagenarian teaches a young journalist the importance of loving God and community in Brunsvold’s uplifting debut. Aidyn Kelley, tired of covering small local stories at the Kansas City Star, goes behind her editor’s back to ask her managing editor for a feature. Aidyn’s editor finds out and punishes her by making her write an obituary for Clara Kip, a cheerful 79-year-old widow dying of cancer in a nearby hospice facility. Aidyn’s first interviews with Clara are perfunctory and awkward, but Clara agrees to open up about her life on one condition: Aidyn must invent “extraordinary deaths” for Clara. As Aidyn weaves glorious tales of imaginary deaths (“attacked by a ridiculously large shark,” “rappelling off a skyscraper to save her family from a mad-man”), she discovers that Clara helped resettle Laotian refugees in Kansas City after the Vietnam War and realizes the story has the makings of a feature. Clara, for her part, determines to show Aidyn the transformative power of Christianity and that “the grave is not my final home.” Clara’s vivaciousness in the face of death makes her a captivating protagonist, and readers will appreciate her poignant reflections on faith and renewal: “God is the God of new life.” Inspirational fans will want to snap this up. (July)
