Wait Until I'm Dead

Surviving family horror is one thing. Having the courage and determination to reveal it is another.

She has the courage. She has the determination. She has friends covering her back. But when unearthing one secret leads to another and another and another… can she survive the fallout? Some family members are begging her to wait until they’re dead. Has one of them gone too far in a misguided effort to protect someone – or something?

DJ Brava is a prolific and beloved writer of best-selling romance novels. Her memoir of child abuse and recovery, however, is another matter entirely. While the draft manuscript panics her editor, her family’s response is to unravel, revealing long-held secrets.

Wait Until I’m Dead! is a uniquely structured novel celebrating one woman’s tenacious recovery from childhood abuse. Formatted as a memoir within a novel, it speaks directly to the reality of women’s lives and silencing of their determination to be heard.

Eleven chapters from DJ’s autobiography, Peeling the Onion, provide backstory of her molestation, the factors essential to her survival, and the intimacies of therapy that contribute to her healing. As characters learn of the book, or read a chapter, their lives are deeply and often dangerously affected. And when the uncle with the most to lose is told, the pressure he exerts on both DJ and her editor to pull the book from publication shapes a mystery and propels the story to an unforeseen and liberating conclusion.

Wait is filled with humor, intrigue, and engaging plot twists. Crisp dialogue and unforgettable characters move the reader beyond events and into the human connections required to prevail.

If you are looking for a read with the social consciousness of a Picoult, the resonance of Sue Miller, the wit and tongue of Evanovich, the popular appeal of Anna Quindlen, and the female bonding of Thelma and Louise (without the drive off the cliff), then this book is for you.