The First Time
When Mattie Hart is diagnosed with ALS, her world is forever changed. Will she survive? And if so, how?
Behind the shiny façade of her idyllic life, Mattie Hart feels as though she is gradually falling apart. After sixteen years of marriage, she has discovered that her husband, Jake, a high-profile defense attorney, is having yet another affair. But it is only when Jake finally confesses his infidelity and goes to live with his girlfriend that a far greater tragedy descends. Mattie is diagnosed with ALS, a neurodegenerative disease that severely affects her life expectancy and everything she holds dear. Racked with guilt over his wife’s diagnosis, Jake returns home to take care of Mattie. In this most daunting and unexpected…
Joy Fielding is the New York Times bestselling author of Someone Is Watching, Now You See Her, Still Life, Mad River Road, See Jane Run, and other acclaimed novels. She divides her time between Toronto and Palm Beach, Florida.