Kim and Grant are at a turning point.

A couple for thirty years, their "separate but together" partnership is running up against the realities of late middle age: Grant’s mother has died, the college where he taught philosophy was shuttered, and their twin girls are grown and gone. Escaping the bitter cold of a Midwestern winter for the hot desert sun of Palm Springs seems as good a solution as any to the more intractable problems they face.

When they arrive at Le Desert, a quirky condo community where everyone knows everyone’s business, Kim immediately embraces the opportunity to make new friends and explore a more adventurous side of her personality. Meanwhile, Grant struggles to find his footing in this unfamiliar landscape, leaving Kim to wonder if their relationship can survive the snowbird season. But when Grant goes missing on a hike in the Palm Springs mountains, Kim is forced to consider two terrifying outcomes: either Grant is truly lost, or this time he’s really left her.

Is it ever too late to become the person we wanted to be—and is there still time to change into someone better? The exhilarating, but often confusing transitions of midlife are pitched against the promise and glamour of Palm Springs in this tender, honest story of what it takes to commit to someone for a lifetime. With compassion and humor, Clancy explores the redemptive power of finding ourselves, and of being found.

AUTHOR PRAISE FOR THE SNOWBIRDS

Chloe Benjamin, New York Times bestselling author of The Immortalists

“The Snowbirds  is an insightful, propulsive exploration of modern marriage in middle age, equal parts sharp-eyed and heartwarming. Is it possible to commit to a relationship without losing your identity? What epiphanies might we have while getting lost? Christina Clancy's novel ponders these questions and more with humor and warmth. Set against the vivid, zany backdrop of Palm Springs and its Hollywood history, populated by a delightful cast of locals and transplants, The Snowbirds asks whether it's ever too late to find your partner––and yourself.”

Steven Rowley, New York Times bestselling author of The Guncle

“The Snowbirds is a harrowing look at all the ways we find ourselves lost in relationships and what it takes to be found. Clancy has harnessed the unyielding sunshine of Palm Springs to shine new light on long-term love. Her observations are astounding.”

Angie Kim, New York Times bestselling author of Happiness Falls

"The Snowbirds is a beautifully written and propulsive novel, at once a page-turning mystery of a missing man and a moving portrait of a long-term relationship going through a midlife crisis. With humor, honesty, and keen insight, Clancy explores the struggles and joys of reexamining a 30-year relationship and remaking your life in a new community. I couldn't put it down."

Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Stolen Queen

"Clancy’s latest features a long-time couple at the precipice of a romantic reckoning who head to Palm Springs, where the dry heat and their quirky neighbors only add to the tightrope tension. The perfect read for a cold winter night, and one that raises the fundamental questions of how well do we know our partner, or even ourselves? An absolute treat."

J. Ryan Stradal, New York Times bestselling author of Kitchens of the Great Midwest

"The Snowbirds is Clancy’s best novel yet, and absolutely impossible to put down—a gripping, immersive story about the importance of community and the unexpressed depths of love within a family."

Natalie Jenner, bestselling author of The Jane Austen Society

"In The Snowbirds, Clancy plumbs the depths of love and commitment while spinning a compelling and tantalizing tale about a man who runs away one too many times in the course of a thirty-year relationship. As Kim's new winter community in Palm Springs rallies about her in the search for Grant, who has failed to return from a New Year's Day hike, the reader is shown glimpses of the couple's fraught but passionate past framed by each of his previous flights from home. A totally relatable and completely unforgettable work of literary fiction that, like the best of marriages, manages to be both rich with meaning and insight, sexy and oh-so-fun."

Annabel Monaghan, author of Summer Romance

"The Snowbirds shines a compassionate light on the complexities of life-long love, and the ways our deepest connections make us deeply vulnerable. It's emotionally wise and beautifully written—I'm going to be thinking about this one for a long time."

Bonnie Jo Campbell, author of The Waters

"I loved spending time in Clancy’s Palm Springs, where the local color features a passel of voluble eccentrics as magnificent as the mountain views, and a twisty, harrowing hike of a plot. This life-affirming novel of being lost and found will shake you up."

Rowan Beaird, author of The Divorcées

"The Snowbirds is a sharp, often tender portrait of middle age: a period of life when we’re told we should know who we are but are often still trying to find ourselves. Against the intoxicating backdrop of Palm Springs, Clancy brings an incredible cast of characters to life with wit, precision, and empathy."

Byron Lane, author of Big Gay Wedding

"This book is a trip! An honest and authentic portrait of love, family and finding yourself told with beautiful writing and rich characters."

BOOKSELLER PRAISE FOR THE SNOWBIRDS

Joanne Berg, Mystery to Me

“Clancy is an awe-inspiring storyteller because she reaches deep inside each of her characters and brings them to life on the page. This is a beautiful story about older adults finding themselves and finding each other.”

Pamela Klinger-Horn, Valley Bookseller

“Clancy understands the complexities of mature love and long term relationships. When a husband's disappearance forces his partner to re-evaluate their relationship and future, THE SNOWBIRDS really takes flight. This well crafted novel examines a long term love, and will have readers analyzing their own marriages and book clubs discussing it during marathon sessions. Clancy is at the top of her game.”

Mary Webber O'Malley, Skylark Bookshop

"The Snowbirds brings us a couple on the precipice as they leave their home in Madison for an opportunity to snowbird in Palm Springs. Clancy combines her gift for writing complicated relationships and her ability to transport the reader to time and place to this wonderful novel that is as colorful as the people who call Palm Springs their home."

Maxwell Gregory, A Mighty Blaze 

"A quirky and totally compelling page-turner. Clancy has created a memorable cast of characters that leap off the page.  Palm Springs offers up the perfect escape for a Midwestern couple at a crossroads in their relationship. Sometimes you need to get lost to rediscover what you want and how to move forward. I loved this book!"

Sarah Lacy, The Best Bookstore in Palm Springs

"Clancy has an incredible gift of introducing us to a seemingly nice, normal Midwestern woman-next-door and then strapping us in for a far wilder ride than expected. The Snowbirds is her best book yet! Seemingly a harrowing story of a husband gone missing on a hike, under the surface it’s much more. It’s an all-too-real story of a couple growing apart, a woman pushing the love away to protect herself, a badly needed reinvention she’s resisting and embracing all at once…set against the landscape of the wealth, weirdness and total queer opulence of Palm Springs. This is an absolute don’t-miss gem, perfect poolside read, plane read, or escape from your family during the holidays read that we will sell THOUSANDS of copies of in our store!"