Kate's first marriage took six months to plan and twenty-six years to destroy. In 2014, when she finally accepts her loosely woven blanket of a marriage will never keep her warm, she pulls the yarn and watches the unraveling. Then she rear-ends two cars in the same week and goes skydiving.

Kate's unbalanced, not ready for new love. Until she meets Don, the prickly firefighter and two-time cancer survivor. The way the word ain't tumbles from his well-fed southern lips swirls her insides like buttercream frosting. She knows she's a goner as she's a stickler for grammar.

Six years later, they're a blended family. Kate's three grown children brand them Mama-Don. Her ex sends Danish Kringles at Christmas. Life dazzles, until a recurrence of Don's lymphoma attacks his central nervous system and robs him of his mobility. Kate moves into his room at Duke University Hospital for five months and commits to being his caretaker.

How do we learn to live each day, knowing that it could end? As Kate reflects on her relationship and her role as a caregiver, she takes a penetrating look at how the hardest moments show us how to live. A deeply personal and often hilarious examination of love and loss, this memoir will speak to anyone who believes joy and grief aren't mutually exclusive.

Readers who like authors Abigail Thomas, Laura McInerny, Delia Ephron's memoir Left on Tenth and Ricky Gervais TV series After Life will find themselves at home with Kate Connors' debut memoir, Reclaimed Good.