This Is Where I Leave You

This Is Where I Leave You is an adult novel written by American novelist Jonathan Tropper in 2009 and published by Dutton. Judd Foxman, whose life is in turmoil after his wife cheated on him with his boss, is called home to sit shiva for his departed father. During the week spent in close quarters with his brothers, sister, mother, neighbors, and past girlfriends, Judd must confront past mistakes and overwhelming new responsibilities as resentments boil and secrets emerge. Tropper’s blend of wry humor and deep emotional punches about love, grief, family, and coming to terms with the past made the book a New York Times bestseller and a successful feature film, released in 2014, for which Tropper wrote the screenplay.

This guide references the paperback released as a movie tie-in by Penguin in 2014.

Content Warning: The source text features discussions of pregnancy loss and sexual assault.

Plot Summary

Judd, the middle Foxman brother, is the first-person narrator of This Is Where I Leave You. The novel is arranged into seven sections, each representing one day of shiva and labeled by day, with headings that provide a timestamp for each scene.

In the opening chapter, Judd learns from his older sister, Wendy, that their father, Mort, has died and wants them to sit shiva, a Jewish custom in which a mourning family gathers for seven days and receives visitors bearing condolences. As Judd leaves for his childhood home, his estranged wife, Jen, informs him that she is pregnant. Judd and Jen separated two months prior when Judd came home early from work with a birthday cake to surprise her and found her in their bedroom having sex with his boss, Wade. At their father’s funeral, Judd’s elder brother, Paul, who has taken over their father’s sporting goods business, gives the eulogy, while his younger, irresponsible brother, Phillip, shows up late.

Tension is immediately palpable as the family gathers at the Foxman home. Hillary, Judd’s mother and Mort’s widow, is a clinical psychology PhD who once wrote a book about child-rearing. Wendy has three young children and a busy, distant husband. Paul and his wife, Alice, are trying to have a baby. Judd lost his virginity to Alice in high school before she and Paul started dating. Phillip’s girlfriend, Tracy, arrives; she is a psychotherapist who is much older than he is. The rabbi, a childhood friend, begins the shiva, and visitors call to pay respects. Judd escapes the first night to pick up their neighbor, Horry Callen, a friend of the family and Wendy’s ex-boyfriend, son of their neighbor and their mother’s good friend, Linda Callen. Horry still lives at home due to a brain injury.

Judd is depressed that he is sleeping in the basement. Due to the crowd and the faulty wiring in the house, he has cold showers, and the lights regularly go out. The first morning, when his mother tries to console him, Judd pushes her away. The rest of the siblings tell stories about their dad, and all Judd remembers is feeling left out because Phillip was the baby and Paul was the baseball star.

Judd goes to the bank to withdraw money from the joint checking account he shares with Jen and imagines attracting the bank teller. He feels frequently drawn to attractive women around him, fantasizing that he could have romance and a happy life with them. The visitors at shiva annoy or depress Judd. He feels like a failure because he quit his job, his wife cheated, and he has nothing to show for his life. He’s embarrassed and lonely. When he picks up Horry from work the next night, Judd chats with Penny, a girl he was attracted to when he was younger and who still lives in Elmsbrook, working at the Foxmans’ sporting goods store.

Judd has vivid dreams that involve his father, various women, and a prosthetic leg. Over breakfast, Paul discusses the future of the business. Phillip wants to help with the store, and he and Paul fight. Jen arrives to inform Judd that he is the father of her baby. Judd is stunned and recalls how he felt he failed Jen when their previous child was stillborn. The timing is terrible, Judd thinks; not only are he and Jen strangers now, but he’s also about to become a father when he just lost his own. Phillip tells the rest of the family that Jen is pregnant, and Alice is upset.

Phillip drives Judd to the skating rink, where Judd skates with Penny. Back at the house, sitting shiva, the others hear Paul and Alice having sex over the baby monitor. Later, Judd sits outside by the pool with Wendy while her boys swim. Wendy accidentally falls in the pool, and Horry dives in to save her. Judd notices the way they look at one another. Penny visits and she and Judd swim, but then he calls Jen. That night, alone in the basement, Judd recalls the high school party where he was kicked by an older boy. Paul, furious, drove Judd to the boy’s house to retaliate, and the boy’s rottweiler attacked. The injuries to Paul’s pitching arm ended his baseball career, and Judd always felt his family thought the wrong brother had been mauled.

The next morning, Judd sits on the roof, watching Wendy sneak home from Horry’s house while Linda, their neighbor, leaves the Foxman house to return to her home. After his shower, Judd is electrocuted when he tries to flip the blown fuse. His mother finds him, and Judd shares a memory of his father. They both cry. Later, as it is the Sabbath, the family attends temple to recite the Kaddish, the Jewish mourning prayer. Judd finds a joint of marijuana in the pocket of the suit he borrowed from his father’s closet. He, Phillip, and Paul sneak off to smoke together in a classroom. They all admit to missing their father right before the smoke alarm activates the sprinklers.

Judd wakes up from a nap to find Alice beside him. She asks Judd to donate sperm so she can have a baby. Judd says he will be happy to go through a clinic, but Alice forces herself on him and says it will be their secret. Judd talks to Jen, who admits that she felt distant from him when she was still grieving their lost child and Judd seemed to move on. Judd drives to the home they shared and finds Wade’s things in his dresser. He takes some of Wade’s money. That night, unable to bear his family, Judd goes to a movie with Penny, then goes back to her apartment, but the sex is awkward, and Judd doesn’t spend the night.

The next morning, Judd and Wendy sit on the roof and talk. Judd is drawn to Penny but still loves Jen. Several of the visitors that day are high school friends, and observing the ways they have all aged and changed makes Judd uncomfortable. He takes his nephews to the amusement park and invites Penny. Jen calls to say she is bleeding and is worried about the baby, and Judd rushes to the hospital. They are listening to the baby’s heartbeat when Wade arrives. Judd fights with Wade and then vandalizes his car.

The three brothers go out drinking, and Judd confronts Paul, saying he refuses to feel guilty any longer about the rottweiler attack. Paul leaves, Phillip goes home with a girl, and Judd walks home, drunk. Wade drives up and punches Judd, then admits that he broke up with Jen. Judd thinks this might be his chance to reconcile with Jen.

The next morning, Judd chats with Tracy on the roof and lets her know that Phillip has been sleeping with old girlfriends. Tracy advises Judd to stop worrying about when he will find love again and learn how to be on his own. At shiva that morning, their mother greets Linda with a romantic kiss, surprising the family. Judd drives to his old house to find Jen distraught and holds her, thinking that he will be able to forgive her and that perhaps the nightmare is over.

At the Foxman home, the group breaks up. Tracy dumps Phillip and leaves. The siblings learn of their mother’s relationship with Linda. Wendy leaves with her kids, saying goodbye to Horry, and Judd apologizes to Penny. Shiva officially ends. Phillip borrows money from Judd, and Judd asks Paul to let Phillip help with the business. At the end, Judd drives away in Phillip’s Porsche. He has his father’s watch and a bag full of money and is headed to Maine, finally able to embrace the future, even if he doesn’t know what it holds.