“A masterclass in rendering all the many dimensions of the human heart.”
—Porochista Khakpour, author of Tehrangeles
A captivating debut novel about one woman reinventing her life after the death of her husband, and a brilliant meditation on marriage, aging, sex, and art.
Leila Whittaker is a novelist married to the renowned artist Ken Black, whose paintings grace museums around the world and sell for millions. For years, instead of writing, Leila has been the mediator in her family: she smooths ruffled feathers between her sons, endures Ken’s volatile moods, and even swallows the bitter pill of his endless affairs. All this, for the quiet hum of creative freedom her marriage provides. Or so she tells herself.
But when Ken dies, leaving his artist’s estate to their two sons, and the pointed amount of sixty-nine thousand dollars to his muse, Anita, Leila decides she’s had enough. It’s time to seek some solitude and pleasure of her own, and to once again settle back into writing—finding new ideas, fresh expression after fearing the words were blocked forever.
An exhilarating journey through grief, betrayal, and the intoxicating rediscovery of joy, Diving, Falling candidly examines the calculations and sacrifices women make to keep the peace, escape their pasts, and find the agency to pursue their own life’s work.
