Synopses & Reviews
When Karen Karbo's father, a charming, taciturn Clint Eastwood type who lives in a triple-wide in the Nevada desert, is diagnosed with lung cancer, his only daughter rises to the challenge of caring for him. Neither of them is exactly cut out for the job. As Dick Karbo's disease progresses, Karen finds herself sometimes the responsible adult, sometimes a stubborn teenager all over again. But in the end, what father and daughter discover more than anything is the love and the toughness that makes them alike.
Review
"Striking just the right balance between the comically absurd and the poignant, [Karbo] shows one how to care generously for a dying parent without losing one's sense of self." Oregonian
Review
"It is...Karbo's willingness to portray the tough business of grief and mortality in all its unmanageableness and confusion that makes The Stuff of Life a book you want to keep reading, and laughing with, to the end." Seattle Times
Review
"A lively, insightful and astonishingly unsentimental read, it's intensely funny in places. Karbo excels at bringing people to life on the page." The Washington Post
Review
"It will resonate with anyone who has gone through the death of a loved one from a progressive disease and the emotions one experiences along the way." Library Journal
Review
"Karbo's wit, even in the worst of times, brightens what could have been just another dreary disease drama." Kirkus Reviews
About the Author
Karen Karbo is the author of three novels and the nonfiction book Generation Ex: Tales from the Second Wives Club. Her writing has appeared in Vogue, Esquire, Entertainment Weekly, the New Republic, and the New York Times, among other publications. She lives in Portland, Oregon.
Exclusive Essay
Read an exclusive essay by Karen Karbo