This book really resonated with me, but I’m also in the same age and cultural cohort as the characters. Add to that a personal event similar to the instigating event for the story and it was practically written for me.

After the loss of their close friend just prior to college graduation, the remaining friends create a pact to hold funerals for each other while they’re still alive. Through the years the friends call on the pact. Secrets are revealed and their friendships are repeatedly tested. They learn whether the pact a testament of their bond or a desperate grasp to hang onto a time long since passed?

While the specter of mortality weighs on the Celebrants more than the Guncle series, Steven Rowley’s punchy wit, irony, and joy shine through the same. While it doesn’t break new ground, it celebrates life, next chapters, and not leaving things unsaid.