Hello Beautiful: THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

He felt like he’d handed his wife the muddled insides of his head, or perhaps his soul.

She delighted in the fact that she could show and tell William anything that came into her head without worrying that he would misunderstand or think her strange.

Julia should have known something was going on; perhaps she had known but had averted her eyes and not allowed those thoughts to rise to the surface.

had to tell her I loved her,” Emeline had said. “Even if it killed me. And I thought it might.” This resonated with Sylvie: This moment felt like life and death. She was breaking open, but still breaking.

He’d known his wife was dying, but he hadn’t expected her to die.

Julia couldn’t comprehend how to form an intimate friendship with a stranger. Sometimes she would see a mother at Alice’s daycare whose style she admired or who seemed to have a full-time job, like Julia did, and she considered approaching the woman. But the gulf between her and the total stranger was oceanic, and Julia had no idea how to cross it.

left. He knew that to get well, he needed to consider his wife, his childhood, and his failure to manage what had looked from the outside like a great life. He wasn’t ready yet, though. It was enough to simply know that the time was coming

He wouldn’t deposit the check—he knew that immediately. He wouldn’t touch their money. William’s heartbeat slowed to a murmur in his chest, and he had to breathe in a funny way to keep from crying. He was surprised by how upset he was; it felt like something had broken inside him.

Sylvie’s fear became so loud that she knew she had to do something to quiet it or she would be no good to anyone.