Embrace life’s unexpected bonds:
Join Liz and the Oakland Mets on an odyssey of friendship and discovery
Available now
Almost Family
Almost Family is the darkly funny, poignant story of Liz Millanova, an accomplished but unfulfilled woman who meets two unlikely friends in a support group for metastatic cancer patients. They ditch the group and form their own, aiming to squeeze as much fun and meaning from life as they can. In the process, they help one another resolve family issues and find love and acceptance at the end of their lives.
Reserve Your Copy of Almost Family Now!
Latest From The Blog
The Story Behind Almost Family
My father used to say that by counting up our years, we’re actually looking at age backwards. “We really don’t know how old we are now unless we know when we are going to die,” he said. If you die at 50, from his perspective you were old at 45, even if you didn’t know it. Hmmmm. My father died of cancer at 61, not realizing that when he first put forth his premise he wasn’t actually middle-aged, but “old.” I like his viewpoint because it keeps top of mind the fact our culture so often avoids: we will all die, and our lives may be shorter than we imagine they will be. This perspective, honed not only by remembering
In my defense, this group I’m in is about the thing, the thing you can’t get over or move on from or leave behind. It’s the thing that makes you leave everything else behind, not just school or city or friends, No next new stage, no trying any different way to be. Just this one last adventure.
About Ann
Ann Bancroft began writing fiction after a career in journalism and communications. A graduate of UC Berkeley, she has been a newspaper and wire service reporter, editorial writer, speechwriter, and journalism teacher. An early draft of Almost Family (titled The Oakland Mets) won the 2018 San Diego Book Award for best unpublished novel.
Book Clubs — Connect with Ann through Novel Network
Ann’s book club scheduling is done via Novel Network (now merged with Adventures by the Book). This is a free service that arranges author visits. Please click here to sign up for your free Novel Network membership and to request an in-person or online visit to your book club! Ann looks forward to meeting with book clubs anywhere, online or within up to 100 miles of San Diego or Sacramento.