“Deeply satisfying…An intimate family story…Day-to-day parenting dilemmas are where Frankel shines.” “It’s early days, but this big-hearted novel about a family with a transgender child is in the lead for the most sensitively and sincerely told story of 2017…Frankel’s portrayal of even the most openhearted parents’ doubts and fears around a child’s gender identity elevates this novel.” And families with secrets don’t get to keep them forever. And it’s about the ways this is how it always is: Change is always hard and miraculous and hard again, parenting is always a leap into the unknown with crossed fingers and full hearts, children grow but not always according to plan. Laurie Frankel's This Is How It Always Is is a novel about revelations, transformations, fairy tales, and family. Soon the entire family is keeping Claude’s secret. They’re just not sure they’re ready to share that with the world. Rosie and Penn want Claude to be whoever Claude wants to be. When he grows up, Claude says, he wants to be a girl. He also loves wearing a dress, and dreams of being a princess. He’s five years old, the youngest of five brothers, and loves peanut butter sandwiches. This is how children change…and then change the world. This is how a family lives happily ever after…until happily ever after becomes complicated. This is how a family keeps a secret…and how that secret ends up keeping them. “It made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me think.” -Liane Moriarty, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Big Little Lies Longlisted for 2019 International DUBLIN Literary Award The Globe and Mail's Top 100 Books of 2017 Refinery29's Best Books of the Year So Far PopSugar’s Our Favorite Books of the Year (So Far) “Every once in a while, I read a book that opens my eyes in a way I never expected.” -Reese Witherspoon (Reese’s Book Club x Hello Sunshine book pick)īustle’s 17 Books Every Woman Should Read From 2017 The Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club Pick

This is how it always is cover