Goodbye Without Leaving: A Novel

“Poignant and hilarious . . . . Irresistible.” — Washington Post

One of the most beloved novels from the critically acclaimed novelist Laurie Colwin, Goodbye Without Leaving explores a woman’s attempts to reconcile her rock-and-roll past with her significantly more sedate family life as a wife and mother.

As a bored graduate student, Geraldine Coleshares is plucked from her too-tame existence when she is invited to tour as the only white backup singer for Vernon and Ruby Shakely and the Shakettes. The exciting years she spends as a Shakette are a mixed blessing, however, because when she ultimately submits to a conventional life of marriage and children, she finds herself stuck in bittersweet recollections of life on the road. As she grudgingly searches for a path toward happiness that doesn't involve a Day-Glo neon minidress, readers will be enchanted by Geraldine’s attempts to grow up, even though she’s already an adult.

Employing Colwin’s usual dry wit and candor, Goodbye Without Leaving is a classic novel from the writer hailed as “ingenious, comic, and spirited” by the Boston Globe and “a writer of originality and vision" by the San Francisco Chronicle.

“[Colwin’s] eloquence is zany and startling at the same time. . . . Exhilarating and very funny.” - Los Angeles Times Book Review

“One of this year’s funniest and most charming heroines.” - Self

“Poignant and hilarious . . . . Irresistible.” - Washington Post

“Colwin is ingenious, comedic and spirited.”  - Boston Globe

“I would love. . . to start a Colwin renaissance.” - Elin Hilderbrand, on NPR’s “All Things Considered”