Nine-year-old Lauren Cooper is devoted to her brother, Henry. She looks to him for strength, wisdom, and the cool level-headedness that, she is realizing, she lacks. But when a sudden tragedy upsets the balance of her close-knit family, Henry's steadfastness starts to crack, and Lauren is forced to watch out for her onetime protector as he grapples with a strange—although not altogether negative—affliction.
As the Cooper children stumble into adulthood, Lauren continues to keep an eye on Henry, whose already loose ties to the world seem to be weakening. Lauren is starting to suspect that there's another layer to her brother's "illness" that everyone is overlooking. And if she can understand what's happening to him, perhaps she will unlock nothing less than the mysteries of the universe itself.
WHAT HAPPENED TO HENRY is a funny, moving, wise, and powerful tale of a family's struggle to understand their own son--who is either crazy or blessed, not unlike the cold-war America in which they live.
Praise for Everything After
“An overpowering and life-affirming literary experience. At once joyful and heartbreaking—and ultimately unforgettable.”
— STEVE KLUGER, AUTHOR OF LAST DAYS OF SUMMER
“...a beautifully written first novel...It is rather nice to see a novel which deals with childhood in such an adult way, without either bitterness or falling into any of the usual stereotypes. I loved it.”
— JOANNE HARRIS
“An utterly compelling book about the magical endurance of history, family, faith and love. Pywell’s sure prose, her surprising, moody and mysterious plot, her wonderful characters, her snowy, luminous images make this a book you’ll remember. I read it in one go.”
— KAREN JOY FOWLER, AUTHOR OF THE JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB