Literati Presents | Ben Markovitz: The Rest of Our Lives

When

Friday January 9, 2026: 6:30pm to 7:30pm  Add to Calendar /   Add to Google Calendar

Where

Downtown Library: 4th Floor Program Room

Description

Join us for a discussion with author Ben Markovits about his new novel, The Rest of Our Lives. He will be joined in conversation by Amanda Uhle.

About the book: 

When Tom Layward’s wife had an affair twelve years ago, he resolved to leave her as soon as his youngest child left the nest. Now, while driving his college-bound daughter to Pittsburgh, he remembers his promise to himself. He is also on the run from his own health issues and a forced leave from work.

So, rather than returning to his wife in Westchester, Tom keeps driving west, with the vague plan of visiting people from his past—an old college friend, his ex-girlfriend, his brother, his son—en route, maybe, to California. He’s moving towards a future he hasn’t even envisioned yet while he considers his past and the choices he’s made that have brought him to this particular present. Pitch-perfect, tender, and keenly observed, The Rest of Our Lives is a story about what to do when the rest of your life is only just the beginning of your story.

Ben Markovits was born in Texas and grew up there and in London and Berlin. He studied at Yale University and the University of Oxford. After graduating, he became a professional basketball player in Landshut, Germany. His eleven previous novels include Fathers and Daughters, You Don’t Have to Live Like This, and The Sidekick. He has published essays, stories, poetry, and reviews in The Guardian, Granta, and The New York Times, among others. He lives in London and teaches creative writing at Royal Holloway, University of London.

Amanda Uhle is Executive Director and Publisher of McSweeney’s, known for its award-winning quarterly literary journal, humor website and eclectic book publishing program, along with The Believer and Illustoria. For more than 11 years, Uhle was executive director of 826michigan, a nonprofit tutoring and writing center for school-aged students in Detroit, Ann Arbor, and Ypsilanti.  Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, Politico Magazine, and The Boston Globe, among others. Her memoir, Destroy This House, is published by Simon & Schuster/Summit Books.

This event is in partnership with Literati Bookstore and includes a signing with books for sale.