The Truth About Forever

The Truth About Forever (2004) is a young adult contemporary romance by Sarah Dessen. The novel follows Macy Queen, a teen girl struggling to heal from the tragic death of her father, only to find that the answers lie not in chasing perfection and control but embracing the unpredictable and chaotic joys of life. The Truth About Forever is Sarah Dessen’s sixth published novel and won the 2004 Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award for Urban Fantasy, the 2007 South Carolina Book Award for Young Adult Books, and the 2017 Margaret A. Edwards Award. The novel explores themes including The Illusion of Perfection, Diverse Manifestations of Grief, and Embracing the Unpredictability of Life.

This guide refers to the e-book edition published in 2004 by Viking, an imprint of Penguin Group.

Content Warning: The source material features depictions of codependency and the death of a parent.

Plot Summary

The day after Christmas, Macy Queen’s father dies of a heart attack during a morning run. Macy wakes to join him minutes after he leaves but is unable to reach him in time to save him. A year and a half later, Macy has lost her passion for running, and she and her mother, Deborah, struggle to cope with the grief of his death.