Inthispiercingmemoir,afathermapsthecontoursofhisgriefandexploreshowhisfamilynavigatestheunthinkablelossofeight-year-oldOwen.
Onadaylikeanyother,onaraftingtripdownUtah'sGreenRiver,StephaneGersonseight-year-oldson,Owen,drownedinaspotknownasDisasterFalls.Thatsamenight,asdarknessfell,Stephanehuddledinatentwithhiswife,Alison,andtheirolderson,Julian,tryingtounderstandwhatseemedinconceivable."Itsjustthethreeofusnow,"Alisonsaidoverthesoundsofalightrainand,nearby,therushingriver."Wecannotdoitalone.Wehavetosticktogether."
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DisasterFalls"chroniclestheaftermathofthatdayandtheirshareddeterminationtostaytruetoAlisonsresolution.Gersoncapturesthedifferentwaysofgrievingthatthreatenedtoisolateeachofthemintheirpost-Owenworldsandthen,withbeautifulspecificity,showshowheandAlisonpreservedandreconfiguredtheirmarriagefromwithin.Blendingfamilyhistory(includingthegooddeathofhisfather,whichoffersaverydifferentperspectiveonmortality)andthenaturalhistoryoftheriver,heprovidesanexpansive,unflinchingmeditationonloss,ourresponsibilitiestowardourchildren,andthestorieswetellourselvesinthewakeoftraumaticevents.
Slowly,inexorably,GersonwriteshiswaybacktoOwen,straighttothesingularitythatcleavedhislifeintobeforeandafter,creatingaportraitofgriefiridescentinitsfullness,andunexpectedlyconsoling."