Ruby Hirsch had a bit of a life setback—if you can call breast cancer that. Not wishing to define herself by the often singular narrative given to survivors, Ruby wishes to step into the future she had to set down in her treatment. As luck would have it, the wedding of a former friend presents her the chance to initiate the get back to life plan. There she finds herself at the mercy of her former friend Penelope who is desperate for her to take over as the wedding planner for her own forthcoming nuptials. Knowing Ruby is rebuilding her writing career, Penelope promises an introduction to her literary agent in exchange for taking on the job. Wedding planning shouldn’t be a hardship, especially not in exchange for a publishing contact, but with Penelope’s immense extravagance in mind it is very much that. If that weren’t enough the best friend of the groom is a petulant presence that threatens her grand get back to life plan. Eitan is everything Ruby is not, sunshine incarnate, charismatic, and romantic, and he promises to help her in exchange for her helping him in his best man duties. Across camping trips, mix tapes, and car rides Ruby and Eitan are drawn together. There’s just one wedding to get right and one get back to life plan begging to go wrong—to get rewritten entirely.
There is an indescribable magic in finding a romance that was meant for you, in the exact moment you need it. Rebecca Brodkey has written that book with her tour de force of a romance, All the Days Before Tomorrow. Part wedding rom com, part stark look at breast cancer and the way illness rewrites our lives, this is a love story without comparison, one grounded in a realism that is refreshing as it is invigorating. Facing life after her life-altering experience with breast cancer, Ruby, a young Chicagoan, takes on the wedding planning duties for a former friend. Floral arrangements and cakes are one battle, the other she must endure: the sunshine nuisance of a best man determined to help her in her plan. Weddings, book deals, and get-back-to-yourself plans, there’s certainly a lot on the line for this romance and Brodkey displays it all with an unparalleled frankness. All the Days Before Tomorrow flowers from Brodkey’s own experiences as a breast cancer survivor and it echoes in her approach to this romance, both in genre conventions and its heart. This is a romance narrative, one that really grasps what it means to stand by another person through thick and thin. For Brodkey, life is truly grasped when we realize we aren’t, nor do we have to go through it alone.
Brodkey turns her pen toward incandescent, modern romance with her second novel, All the Days Before Tomorrow. Paying homage to the rom coms of the early 2000’s, All the Days Before Tomorrow puts a spin on the classic wedding story with a cancer survivor finding her place after treatment as wedding chaos ensues. Like all the best rom coms, this novel is one that captures a snapshot of life, and expertly balances competing emotions. All the Days Before Tomorrow casts innumerable shades, a true representation of the lives we lead. Everything life can be is encapsulated within these pages, the frustration, isolation, the hope, and the joy. Just as Ruby experiences a myriad of emotions, so too does this novel honor all the glimmering facets that make up the fabric of our contemporary existence, giving them all voice and a necessary weight. There are several moments across this book where I had to set it down and just bask in feeling. The Northern lights scene in particular made me weep, and Ruby finding connection with other cancer survivors was certainly another. My favorite moments are the ones that hint at community and the power in finding it, reveling in it. We’re not in this alone, and that is certainly one thing I came away from this romance reminding myself.
Now I love a meddlesome bisexual man and Eitan takes the cake. It was over when he started ecstatically singing Dancing Through Life but the hand flex at the river and him burning her a CD (in 2026) had me folding. Brodkey’s talent continues to be the character dynamics and Eitan and Ruby were these opposite sides of the same coin type pairings I just adore—Ruby, as someone who has been the epicenter of loss, and Eitan, unexpectedly shaped by it. There are these moments of kinship before they even know each other as they face social norms they are on the outside of. It makes for great connection as they work to build understanding and trust with one another. Of course there’s an initial misunderstanding, a meeting scene that sets the tone for most of their future interactions (it wouldn’t be a rom com without it). I couldn’t help but adore these two and their grumpy x sunshine dynamic as Eitan charms Ruby into letting him help her get back to herself. Brodkey really sets a hopeful energy with these two. Her attention to the vulnerability in letting someone see you after breast cancer treatment is so raw, the tenderness that emerged threatened to buckle me. Across this romance, Eitan and Ruby are able to see each other entirely, flaws and all, so much that we know they’re going to outlast anything life throws their way.
One thing is for certain about Rebecca Brodkey, her talent is only growing. That and her talents are certainly not only applied to writing fantasy and I need another rom com from her immediately. This story is one that is so many things, a cancer survivor narrative, a story of finding your place and community, and a nuisance to lovers romance. Brodkey reflects so much of what I love about this genre: the possibility. Yes we can have the angst, humor, and romance together in one narrative, and All the Days Before Tomorrow is proof of that. When it comes to possibility, this novel has a tight hold, and that is perfectly evidenced by Brodkey’s usage of key genre conventions. The way this novel ends utilizes one of my favorite narrative choices that still adheres to the pivotal rule of romance. Love me a book that ends in a way true to the characters, that serves the overarching narrative presented by the author. Eitan and Ruby face down a lot over the course of this novel, but the greatest test is choosing to face a future of uncertainty together. Rebecca Brodkey’s, All the Days Before Tomorrow is the kind of romance that comes around to remind us to pause, to take collection of our lives and what we need. This is one of the best romance debuts around and I am thrilled for more romance or fantasy from Brodkey—whichever comes next.
Thank you to the author for providing me with an advance review copy.
Trigger warnings: cancer, grief, death
Literaryrobin 