This “gorgeous and heartbreaking” (Elin Hilderbrand, #1 New York Times bestselling author) portrait of marriage explores the long union of a middle-aged couple as they grapple with secrets, illness, and loyalty from the author of the “original, profound novel” (Lee Smith, author of On Agate Hill) Seen the Glory.

Pete and Jackie were high school sweethearts. Everyone expected them to marry immediately but an explosive incident tore them apart before graduation. It took years for the two to heal and finally come back together. Now, decades later, they face an uncertain future with their only child out on her own and alarming news about Jackie’s health.

Determined to stay positive, the two travel to their Cape hometown for a book signing of Pete’s debut novel. But when a disastrous encounter in the bookstore with an old classmate brings their long relationship to the breaking point, they are forced to examine their marriage and explore their deepest feelings.

A “riveting exploration of the challenges and complexities of a long, loving marriage” (Stephen McCauley, author of My Ex-Life), The Sweetest Days is a rich, vivid, and enthralling look at the roads taken and not taken in love and life.

John Hough, Jr., is a novelist who grew up in Falmouth, Massachusetts (Cape Cod), and now lives on Martha’s Vineyard. He comes from a family of newspapermen: his grandfather and his father edited the Falmouth Enterprise and his great-uncle was for many years the editor of the Vineyard Gazette. He is the author of five previous novels and three works of nonfiction.