The Way Life Should Be

Name: The Way Life Should Be
Brand: Brilliance Audio
Availability: InStock
Author: William Dameron
ISBN: 9798400137945

Author: William Dameron

Narrator: Will Damron

Unabridged: 9 hr 43 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Published: 08/01/2023

Categories: Fiction, Family Life

Synopsis

Two fathers embarking on the second half of their lives together. Two families in the midst of transformation. A warm, funny, and unforgettable novel about the joys and fears of moving on.Husbands Thomas and Matt are enjoying a second-chance marriage after coming out, leaving their wives, and finding happiness in a summer cottage on the southern coast of Maine. They’ve kept a tenuous peace with their exes. Thomas toils in the garden. There is an ease to their love. This is the way life should be.But it’s not long before their three children—each nearing adulthood and fleeing personal crises of their own—descend on their fathers’ bliss. The two-bedroom getaway has just enough space for Thomas and Matt’s future. Now they must make room for the past, and all its drama.During an unintentional family reunion, old lives, broken and in need of repair, converge with the new. Over the course of an unforgettable summer, two fathers and their children will come together. They’ll understand what life still can be. Pain, anger, flaws and all, they’re determined to forge a loving way forward.

About William Dameron

William Dameron is an award-winning blogger, memoirist, essayist, and author of The Lie, a New York Times Editors’ Choice. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Times (UK), Telegraph, Boston Globe, Washington Post, Salon, HuffPost, Oprah Daily, Saranac Review, Literary Hub, Hippocampus Magazine, and in the book Fashionably Late: Gay, Bi & Trans Men Who Came Out Later in Life. He is an IT director for a global economic consulting firm, where he educates users on the perils of social engineering in cybersecurity. William and his husband split their time between the coast of southern Maine and Florida. For more information, visit the author at www.williamdameron.com.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Kristin E. Perlin on July 07, 2023

I was drawn to the main story line of the husbands and their three kids. However, then there were so many characters, perspectives, and drama associated to each of the many characters that became part of the novel that I felt ADHD reading it. Occasionally in a single chapter it would bounce from one......more

Goodreads review by Angell on April 10, 2023

This book was overall good. I really liked the setting. I want to spend a summer at a seaside cottage in Maine now. I can definitely tell that they author is an older white man who came out later in life. I just wish we had more of that. It wasn’t explored nearly as much as I thought it was going to......more

Goodreads review by Nisha on November 13, 2023

Another miss from an Amazon First Reads book. I had a hard time getting into it and then when I would we would switch to another POV and leave the one that was finally being developed in the middle. I hated the way what happened to Connor was handled. That was so weird and revolting. I thought I mig......more

Goodreads review by Aimee on August 06, 2023

Found this on Amazon free reads for the month of July. I'm a stickler for a cover. This was a calm read with nothing crazy happening. It had a story line, but then it didn't. It just bounced around alot. It still was a good read.......more

Goodreads review by Sarah on July 16, 2023

I liked the premise of this book and the story line, but the writing was erratic (deep at times and wobbly at others) and there were some threads not tied up at the end - like the Betty woman and the candy hearts at the end?......more

Quotes

“Will Damron's passionate narration of this first novel adds additional layers of emotional depth as two men who were once married and had children discover they're gay.… Damron slightly alters his smooth and evocative delivery as the narrative reveals family friction and secrets. This family drama walks well-worn paths amid the contemporary twist of a gay marriage.” —AudioFile Magazine“Dameron manages to keep all the story lines taut, and the prose is reliably crisp…Fans of Anne Beattie’s family dramas will admire this touching story.” —Publishers Weekly“The joy in Dameron’s debut novel is found in the chaotic messiness of blending families, and the strength that love and laughter can provide.” —The Washington Post