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Oprah Names Ann Packer’s ‘Some Bright Nowhere’ Her November Book Club Pick

A recorded Starbucks conversation and new reading materials are being used to spur discussion of caregiving and end‑of‑life agency.

Overview

  • Ann Packer’s Some Bright Nowhere was published Tuesday and selected the same day as Oprah’s latest book club choice, marking Packer’s first novel in about a decade.
  • The novel follows a long-married couple after the wife becomes terminally ill and asks two close friends, not her husband, to care for her in her final days.
  • Winfrey and Packer recently spoke at a Starbucks in New York City, and their conversation is airing on Winfrey’s YouTube channel and podcast platforms as part of her Starbucks partnership.
  • CBS News released a reader’s guide and a free excerpt to frame discussions around illness, caregiving dynamics, gender roles, memory, and setting.
  • Packer, best known for The Dive from Clausen’s Pier, learned of the selection via an unexpected phone call and described being overwhelmed by the news.