This Is Where I Leave You Family

This ain't no Leave it to Beaver—the Foxman family ends up in more fistfights, late-night affairs, and heated arguments than we could count. Yet, despite this, the Foxman family is able to walk away at the end of This Is Where I Leave You stronger and more united than ever before. Are they perfect? No way. Will they fight again? We'd put money on it. But the important thing is that the Foxmans learn that family does matter—and that we really just have a short time together.

Questions About Family

1. What role does Linda play in the Foxman family? How might this role be affected by her relationship with Hillary?
2. Why do you think the family is so affectionate towards Phillip, despite his hard-won status as the family screw-up?
3. What drives Paul to fight for Judd after he gets beat up after the high school party?
4. Do you think the Foxman family will be closer after the events of the novel? Why or why not?

Chew on This

This Is Where I Leave You rightly observes that long-standing, unspoken tension will tear any family apart with time.

The novel argues that it just takes a little bit of re-immersion into your family for you to regress back your childhood, no matter how old or mature you've gotten in the meantime.