Four Weekends and a Funeral

Alison Mulally is 30 years old, in recovery from an elective double mastectomy due to the BRCA gene, and attending her ex-boyfriend Sam’s funeral. She quickly realizes that Sam never told his parents they broke up, so, at the urging of his sister, she pretends that she and Sam were still together. Adam Berg was Sam’s grumpy best friend, and somehow, he and Alison find themselves spending four weekends packing up Sam’s condo. At first they don’t get along, but eventually a tenuous friendship starts as they navigate grief, love, and living life on their own terms. Palmer’s debut novel is both fun and flirty and packed with grief, loss, love, and learning to move on. Karissa Vacker narrates Alison as she navigates not only the grief from losing Sam but the grief and guilt that sometimes come with making important medical choices, all with the perfect amount of humor, hope, and tenderness. Vacker also effectively narrates Adam’s change from a prickly, off-putting character to one who shows tenderness and vulnerability.