Joanna Cantor's novel,
Alternative Remedies For Loss, follows 22-year-old New Yorker Olivia Harris as
she contends with her close-knit family and decides to make a film to
honor her mother, Eleanor, after she dies of cancer. Olivia uses her brother Alec's
connections to get an entry-level job at a Manhattan production company.
There, she meets and get involved with Michel Zahavi, a client 16 years
her senior. While Olivia treats the relationship as a temporary
situation to help her cope with her loss, Michel appears to be more
attached. Meanwhile, Olivia and her brothers are aghast that their
father brings his new girlfriend on a family trip to India a few months
after Eleanor's death. After the trip, while sorting through Eleanor's
things, Olivia discovers some curious notes signed by "F" that lead her
on a journey back to India to find out the truth about who F is.
