The Law of Loving Others

In this beautifully grounded coming-of-age novel, a teen on the edge of adulthood returns home to find her mother is having a schizophrenic break. The resulting aftermath forces her to reexamine the stability of her relationships and her future.

“Nonjudgmentally and realistically captures the swirling ups and downs of anxiety, and the frantic, impotent grasp for control in the face of unpredictable, catastrophic change.”—Booklist

“A poignant, powerful, and insightful novel about love, loss, and growing up.”—Margo Rabb, author of Cures for Heartbreak

Hours after Emma returns home from boarding school, she realizes that her mom is suffering from a schizophrenic break. Suddenly, Emma’s entire childhood and identity is called into question.

Desperate for answers, Emma turns to her boyfriend, Daniel. Will he love her even if she goes crazy too? But it’s the lonely, brooding boy Emma meets while visiting her mother at the hospital who really understands Emma. She is soon caught in a complicated spiral of loss and mistrust.

In the span of just one winter break, Emma’s relationships alter forever and she is forced to see the wisdom in a line from Anna Karenina: “The law of loving others could not be discovered by reason, because it is unreasonable.”