OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK • From the New York Times bestselling author of The Nix, a witty and poignant new novel about modern marriage, the often baffling pursuit of health and happiness, and the stories that bind us togetherA hilarious and moving exploration of a modern marriage that astounds in its breadth and intimacy.
—Brit Bennett, author of The Vanishing HalfWhen Jack and Elizabeth meet as college students in the nineties, the two quickly join forces and hold on tight, each eager to claim a place in Chicago’s thriving underground art scene with an appreciative kindred spirit. Fast-forward twenty years, and now they’re grappling with the routines of married life, the challenges of parenting, and the indignities of aging—not to mention cults of positive thinking, polyamorous would-be suitors, Facebook trolls, NIMBY protests, and something called Love Potion Number Nine.
For the first time, Jack and Elizabeth struggle to recognize each other, and the no-longer-youthful dreamers are forced to face their demons, from unfulfilled career ambitions to painful childhood memories of their own dysfunctional families. In the process, they have to undertake separate personal excavations or risk losing the best thing in their lives: each other.
Moving from the gritty nineties Chicago art scene to a suburbia of detox diets and home-renovation hysteria, Wellness mines the absurdities of technology and modern love to reveal profound, startling truths about intimacy and connection. In this follow-up to Hill’s electric debut, Wellness reimagines the love story with a healthy dose of insight, irony, and heart.