The Sunshine When She's Gone: A Novel

When Veronica Reed wakes one frigid January morning, two things seem amiss. First, her Manhattan apartment is luxuriously quiet―her husband, John, and the baby, Clara, are out. Secondly, she is rested, having slept through the night for the first time in months. As Veronica goes about her first free morning in what feels like a lifetime, John, racked by sleep deprivation, is fleeing lower Manhattan with Clara for a weekend in the Caribbean. This isn't a kidnapping. It's just that the cozy local diner happened to be closed, and John, wanting to give his wife a break and spend a little time with the baby, took a taxi to the airport and hopped on a plane.

Told through alternating points of view, Thea Goodman's The Sunshine When She's Gone explores one unusual weekend's life-changing impact on a couple, as individuals and as partners. As Veronica revisits the carefree lifestyle she knew before John and the baby, she grapples with the sacrifices of parenthood. Meanwhile, John faces the full responsibilities―and joys―of being father to an infant with whom he has almost never been left alone. John and Veronica nearly lose hold not only of themselves but of each other as they struggle to find their way in this hilarious, eloquent novel about passion, ambivalence, and love.