Family and Other Accidents by Shari Goldhagen

It is a story of what it means to be a family, to love unconditionally in the face of confusion, anger, and regret. 'Family and Other Accidents' tells the story of these brothers from their viewpoints as well as from those of their girlfriends, wives, and children. But over the years, through the car crashes and bad break-ups, the illnesses and illicit affairs, both realize that while circumstances are sometimes beyond control, there are always choices to be made.

Connor meanwhile wants nothing more than to leave the Midwest, start a family early, and do everything the way his parents didn't. With his self-absorbed, over-the-hill parents dead by his twenty-fifth birthday, Jack has abandoned his own plans and returned to his parents' house where he works marathon hours at his late father's law firm, beds young paralegals, and throws money and advice at his teenage brother. Shari Goldhagen’s debut is a finely nuanced, universally resonant portrait of the ties, however strange or awkward, that bind families together through the decades.Separated by a decade and 200 points on their SAT scores, Jack and Connor Reed have a life in the Cleveland suburbs held together by spit and Chinese takeout. But over the years, through the car crashes and bad breakups, the illnesses and illicit affairs, both realize that while circumstances are sometimes beyond control, there are always choices to be made.įamily and Other Accidents tells the story of these brothers from their viewpoints as well as from those of their girlfriends, wives, and children.

Connor meanwhile wants nothing more than to leave the Midwest, start a family early, and do everything the way his parents didn’t. With his self-absorbed, over-the-hill parents dead by his twenty-fifth birthday, Jack has abandoned his own plans and returned to his parents’ house where he works marathon hours at his late father’s law firm, beds young paralegals, and throws money and advice at his teenage brother. Separated by a decade and 200 points on their SAT scores, Jack and Connor Reed have a life in the Cleveland suburbs held together by spit and Chinese takeout.

Family and Other Accidents by Shari Goldhagen