Shriver dishes up timely novel tackling the ever-rising costs of healthcare that can easily wipe out a life's savings even of the comfortable. All this is presented in an eminently readable package where the main characters, two couples with their respective kids, pretty much cover the spectrum of opinions. What made this book special for me was not only the story itself, about people's lifelong dreams dashed (but not quite) by illness and how they cope with it all, but Shriver's brilliant writing that is simply a treat.