All the Perfect Days

"A stunning tale." --Booklist, STARRED review for How to Be Remembered

For readers of Rebecca Serle's In Five Years and Nikki Erlick's The Measure, Michael Thompson's romantic magical realism will have you smiling, laughing, crying, and questioning: What would you do if you knew how many days someone had left to live?

Family doctor Charlie Knight is suddenly able to see how many days his patients have left to live. His new gift seems helpful at first--he can give people good advice on how to best live out their days. But when one suggestion ends in tragedy for his favorite patient, Charlie begins to feel the weight of his new sight and all of his decisions. He once planned a move to London with the woman he loved to start an exciting new job in the ER, only to be held back by his mother's addiction and to watch the love of his life leave without him.

But life becomes more complicated when Genevieve Longstaff, the woman who got away, comes back and moves into the house next door. And she only has 18 days left to live. Now that he knows he can influence an outcome, Charlie grapples with the idea of being near Gen at all. He can't bear to risk shortening her days. But Charlie begins to notice that the numbers aren't always right, and a conversation with a nearby doctor who experienced the same thing for a while confirms that death is still a mystery, even when we think we know it's coming. This gives Charlie hope. What if he really has more time with his loved ones than he thought? What if he has less? Would he still leave for London, or stay with Gen as long as he possibly can?