EVERY LAST DROP

Robinson (One Night Stand: Episode Three, 2019, etc.) offers a dramatic novel about a woman dying of cancer.

Twenty-eight-year-old Tessa Falls seems to be at the beginning of a perfect life. She has a devoted, attractive husband, Kyle Falls, a loving family, and a nice home. She’s also started the process of getting fertility treatments, so that she can finally be a mother—one of three life goals she’s set for herself, including marrying the love of her life  (“Check”) and writing a book. Kyle buys her a journal as an anniversary present, so that she can chronicle their experiences with the pregnancy. Those plans fade, however, when they discover that Tessa has a brain tumor. She immediately begins treatment, but the tumor grows quickly, until it’s certain Tessa will not survive. In a prologue, narrator Tessa writes that she hopes that her readers will root for a miracle, but then she reminds them it’s not coming. However, Robinson sets up this bleak situation with a clear purpose. As the story continues, many characters, including Tessa’s father, her sister, and Kyle try to convince her there might be a chance for more time. But Tessa knows what’s coming, and that she must spend her remaining time trying to be herself. She also must reconcile herself to death as her friends and loved ones make unwittingly selfish demands. But by making Tessa’s eventual death clear from the outset, Robinson successfully portrays her as a realist instead of a pessimist—more brave than self-pitying. The author insightfully writes, “That’s the thing no one tells you about death—it’s about the living.” Overall, the story cycles between tender and cute moments amid tremendous grief, in a manner that’s reminiscent of an episode of the TV show This Is Us. As such, it sometimes crosses the line into melodrama, but Robinson balances this by keeping her novel grounded in Tessa’s struggle, always aiming for catharsis instead of tragedy.

An insightful, if occasionally heavy-handed, look at the relationship between the dying and the living.