For Your Midsummer Consideration
Reading Revisited Hosts Kate Montclair
I really think this book might be what is missing from your summer reading stack!
Desperate to avoid excruciating suffering and the indignities of so-called palliative care, the terminally ill Kate Montclair secretly plans to break Virginia law with an assisted suicide—but she isn't prepared for the passion for life a “good death” can inspire.
I am honored and delighted that the Substack book club, Reading Revisited, has chosen my novel, The Good Death of Kate Montclair, as their book for July 2026. If you’re on the lookout for an absorbing midsummer read, and the delightful company of a group of perceptive readers, I hope you’ll consider both the novel and Reading Revisited.
“I wasn't sure what to expect from the title but WOW this book blew me away. I couldn't put it down! Not only is the story riveting and masterfully revealed in tantalizing fragments, but the writing is absolutely beautiful and poetic. I usually do not want to re-read a book as soon as I finish it, but I feel like I could get even more out of it from a second read! The novel is a beautiful witness to the value of suffering and the meaning of life in a way that SHOWS versus tells.”
—Basia (5-Star Amazon Review)
“The Good Death of Kate Montclair is an absorbing exercise in finding the extraordinary in the ordinary. Hard to put down for many reasons. First, you probably know someone exactly like the story’s protagonist, or close enough. She’s complicated and treated sympathetically. You want to know how she thinks, her motivations, her loves, her sorrows, her coping mechanisms. The other characters are equally fascinating. All are a little mysterious, only because they don’t quite know themselves. The plot centers on an educated, intelligent, independent, irreligious middle-aged woman who has received a grim cancer diagnosis. At the crux of her adult life, in the distant past, is a traumatic event in which she is not entirely guiltless, and that she tries to suppress but can’t quite forget. As death approaches, circumstances coalesce and compel her to face everything. We see in the end how grace and purpose exist in the the most unlikely people and events.”
—Not Grumpy (5-Star Amazon Review)
“This is a remarkable book! An entertaining story for today, but at the same time this is high level literature. It should stand the test of time as a literary classic from our time period. It paints a picture of our time truthfully but also shows the authors love for the people of our time with our struggles unique to today. It is about ultimate things, but it is ultimately a comedy, a story with a happy ending considered in light of the most important things. A serious book with enough light touches throughout to keep one regularly smiling. It’s a “could not put it down” read.”
—Z (5-Star Amazon Review)
If you’d like some good resources to supplement your reading of the novel, check out this post from Reading Revisited:
And if you’d care to enjoy my conversation with the Ladies of Reading Revisited, here is my recent interview with them:
Thank you for your consideration!
And if you do end up reading the book, an honest review on Amazon is always deeply appreciated.
