This Is Where I Leave You

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussions of pregnancy loss and a nonconsensual sexual encounter.

The loss of a loved one is a significant theme throughout the novel and examined through the dimensions of family relationships, romantic attachment, and parenting.

Mort Foxman’s death represents an anticipated grief and the expected bereavement over the loss of a family member, as he suffered for months and received a terminal diagnosis. Still, it is a loss that takes the family time to process, and each character comes to terms in their own way. Hillary, who has had the most time to prepare, is already turning toward the future and her relationship with Linda. Wendy ruthlessly accepts reality. Paul, who has been handling the business, deals by addressing practical matters. Phillip, the most expressive of the siblings, reaches the funeral late, but openly sobs by his father’s grave.

Judd feels a more complicated grief, as his affection for his father is bound up with a sense of nostalgia, guilt, and disappointment. He suspects his father cared less for Judd than for athletic Paul or charming Phillip. He remembers his father pointing out to Jen that her children with Judd would not be Jewish.