Charles Bock on Grief, Musicals, and Montaigne

Charles Bock and his wife, Diana Joy Colbert, were parents of a six-month-old daughter, Lily, when they received devastating news: Diana had acute myeloid leukemia. The parents were soon thrust into a labyrinthine medical care system as they pursued every resource to combat Diana’s illness. Shortly before Lily’s third birthday, Diana died, and Charles was faced with the monumental task of caring for and raising a child on his own. I Will Do Better is Bock’s moving account of the two years that followed, as he and Lily formed a new family unit amidst their grief and he had to confront his complicated feelings about fatherhood.  Readers might be familiar with Bock from his previous novels, Beautiful Children and Alice & Oliver, both of which were published to great acclaim. Critics have greeted I Will Do Better with similar praise. In its starred review, Kirkus called it “a uniquely forthright and powerful addition to the literature of fatherhood,” while Rebecca Makkai hailed it as “a memoir of survival, grief, and the fathomless ways our fates are tethered to those of people we lose, people we fail, people we love. This book will get deep under your skin.”