One of Gilchrest’s “spiritual brides,” Christine, arrives on his doorstep. Meanwhile, Tom Garvey adjusts to the dissolution of the Healing Hug Movement following Holy Wayne Gilchrest’s arrest on charges that include underage sexual misconduct. Nora and Kevin begin dating, but she struggles to match his enthusiasm for moving on with their lives following the grief of the rapture. Nora, who is branded the saddest person in Mapleton after losing her husband and two children to the rapture, recently discovered that her husband had an ongoing affair with their children’s preschool teacher. In Laurie’s absence, Kevin seeks the company of several women but is unable to create a sustained relationship with any of them until he meets Nora Durst at a Mapleton event. She begins to pull away from her friend to study, attend school, and return to her normal life. Both girls neglect their schoolwork in favor of partying with friends, but Jill is becoming tired of having Aimee dictate their lives. He lives with his teenage daughter, Jill, and Jill’s friend Aimee. Kevin believes in the importance of returning to normal daily life. Three years after the rapture, Laurie’s husband, Kevin Garvey, acts as Mayor of Mapleton. Her son, Tom, decides to drop out of university and commit himself to the Healing Hug Movement led by Holy Wayne Gilchrest. Laurie abandons her family to live with the Guilty Remnant. Wife and mother Laurie Garvey decides to join Mapleton’s Guilty Remnant, a cultish organization that believes the end of humanity is near its members seek to live an austere life of remembrance while condemning the rest of Mapleton for moving on with their lives. The Garvey family of Mapleton, at the center of the novel, did not lose a member to the event but struggles to cope with the grief and uncertainty around it. The Leftovers begins in the immediate aftermath of a rapture-like event in which millions of people across the globe suddenly disappeared.

Martin’s Press.Ĭontent warning: This guide includes references to death by suicide.

This summary refers to the 2011 hardcover edition published by St.

The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta