Singing Boy

This novel by Dennis McFarland begins with the murder of Malcolm Vaughn in front of his wife, Sarah, and young son, Harry. The rest of the novel deals with their attempt to recover from that traumatic event. Sarah, pushed by family and friends to move more quickly through the grief process feels that "No one will understand that her grief is what she has left of him, and if she were to lose that, she would have nothing at all."
Malcolm's best friend, Deckard, a black recovering alcoholic/drug addict and Vietnam War vet, is already struggling with his own demons when he hears of Malcolm's sudden death. He and Sarah want to support each other but are too raw and sensitive to provide much comfort to one another.
This is a mercifully unsentimental story about grief and recovery. Sarah is a prickly character and antagonistic enough to avoid becoming an object of pity. Harry keeps saying that he's fine but his bedwetting and nightmares indicated otherwise. Deckard finds himself screwing up at work.
Sarah feels stuck in her sorrow and her inability to mother Harry and decides that a change of scene might help them both so she moves, against the advice of family and Harry's teachers, to the family seaside cottage. It may be just what is needed and we see small steps toward recovery begin. It's a sensitive sort of novel without being emotionally intense. I liked it but won't be tempted to read it again so it's going in my out-the-door box.