​​​Kathryn Craft author & developmental editor

Ronnie's husband is supposed to move out today. But when Jeff pulls into the driveway drunk, with a shotgun in the front seat, she realizes nothing about the day will go as planned. The next few hours spiral down in a flash, unlike the slow disintegration of their marriage—and whatever part of that painful unraveling is Ronnie's fault, not much else matters now but these moments. Her family's lives depend on the choices she will make—but is what's best for her best for everyone? 


Based on a real event from the author's life, The Far End of Happy​ is a chilling story of one troubled man, the family that loves him, and the suicide standoff that will change all of them forever.






Praise for The Far End of Happy:


2015 INDIEFAB Award Finalist, General Fiction (from Foreword Reviews)

2016 IPPY Bronze Medalist, Contemporary Fiction (from Independent Publisher Book Awards)


"The Far End of Happy gives us a newsworthy tragedy from the inside out. In sharply intimate language, Kathryn Craft deftly weaves her story out of many stories, some buried in the past, some fresh as a new wound, stories of true love, of families carefully built and then painfully unraveled, of a good man's life ravaged by alcoholism, and of the guilt, anger, hope, and tremendous strength of the women and children who love him." 
—Marisa de los Santos, New York Times bestselling author of Love Walked In, Belong To Me, and Falling Together


"In The Far End of Happy, Kathryn Craft does not flinch from exploring the deep-rooted reasons for her characters' actions. Compellingly written, the tension builds throughout the book and the reader comes out the other side with more insight, and more compassion, for those who may find themselves on the far end of happy."

—Catherine McKenzie, bestselling author of Hidden

"A complex and gripping story of broken hearts, lives, and marriages that will tear you apart from beginning to end."

—Steena Holmes, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Memory Child and Finding Emma

"An incredibly honest and courageous exploration of a marriage torn apart by neglect and threats of suicide. Craft's ability to tell a tale as beautiful as it is haunting left me in awe. Not one to miss!"

—Mary Kubica, author of The Good Girl


"Craft’s second novel (after 2014’s The Art of Falling), this title is based on the author’s experience with a standoff involving her husband, which adds real, raw, emotion to the plot. Framing the novel within a 12-hour period keeps the pages turning."

Library Journal

"Kathryn Craft's The Far End of Happy had me captivated from page one. A poignant glimpse into the undoing of a marriage, Craft expertly weaves a gripping tale that hits the reader hard and keeps moving briskly to its heartbreaking but hopeful conclusion."

—Heather Gudenkauf, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Weight of Silence and These Things Hidden

"Kathryn Craft is a masterful storyteller who weaves a heartbreaking story packed with tension and brimming with humanity."

—Lori Nelson Spielman, #1 international bestselling author of The Life List


"Kathryn Craft pulls off a miracle of story telling, weaving together the initial magic spell of a couple entwined, the sad shredding of their love and family, fueled by alcohol, and the truth of the past binding them-all revealed throughout twelve hours of a tragic suicide standoff."

—Randy Susan Meyers, bestselling author of Accidents of Marriage


"Despite the known outcome, Kathryn Craft keeps the tension edge-of-your-seat suspenseful in The Far End of Happy, with deftly woven backstory and alternating present-day hourly narrative. She creates a story that is unflinchingly honest and hard-hitting. A superb insider's look at the ripple effect of clinical depression and suicide." 
—Kate Moretti, author of the New York Times bestselling Thought I Knew You and Binds That Tie


"Craft is a careful writer, but also poetic in all the right places. Several times, a provocative image seals (even steals) the scene, such as a branch swinging in “violent indecision,” which foreshadows the primary characters. She also knows how to hide things, forcing us into opinions about characters that will inevitably change. That's what I call having a reading experience."

—Katherine Ramsland, PhD, forensic psychologist and Psychology Today blogger (read more)



Related memoir essays:

Standoff at Ronnie's Place

The Boys, Harry Potter & Me

The List