THE LAST DREAMER

Should some dreams simply die?

Iliana Passing knows she's more than an overworked and stretched-too-thin wife and stay-at-home mother. Before starting a family, Iliana was a successful reporter for Business Times. Over the years, she dabbled in freelancing, though she was never able to land the in-depth features that she dreamed of writing. When a former colleague is promoted, she thinks it might finally be her chance to snag that dream assignment. But her pitch is met with a swift rejection, along with a judgment that she's thinking too small. Feeling frustrated, Iliana finds inspiration in an unlikely source: former teen idol, and object of her adolescent affection, Jeff Downs. After his television show Guitar Dreams was canceled, Jeff settled into relative obscurity. With a little research, Iliana discovers that he's now the owner of a textile business. Thinking she might be able to work the celebrity angle for a Business Times feature, Iliana decides to take a chance and contact Jeff. Given his known reluctance to speak with the press, Iliana is shocked when she's granted an interview and thrilled that this could finally signal her big break. Meeting Jeff fulfills all of Iliana’s teenage dreams, but she's snapped back to reality when she realizes that he mistook her for a reporter from the New York Times. Against her better judgment, Iliana allows the misunderstanding to spiral into a full-fledged lie as she chases a bigger story: Jeff Downs is willing to talk to her about his television career. As Iliana digs deeper into Jeff’s life, she begins to neglect her own responsibilities, putting her family’s security in jeopardy. While Jeff initially seemed like a confident and secure business owner, Iliana learns that he too isn’t ready to give up on his dreams.

In this engaging debut novel, Josselsohn delves into the anxieties and insecurities of modern womanhood as well as the whims of a celebrity-obsessed culture.