The Obit Habit: A Novel Paperback – January 29, 2026

Viva is obsessed with obituariesShe lives to see who died. After her own life-threatening experience, she turns her obsession into a course at Lakeview City College. Fresh obituaries provide insights into profound world changes, while death appears at Viva’s own front door.As Viva hits bottom, her students hijack the course and commit to building their own legacies. Raucous car washes and poetry marathons become fundraisers for the new library. Thanks to their example, and the forty-five plastic pink flamingoes that appear on her birthday, Viva begins to speak out, exposing her vulnerability, risking her job and her romance, and inspiring protests and calls for censorship.As Viva raises her own quirky voice, she commits to living every single minute to the fullest, making the most of the time represented by a single dash separating birth and death dates on a tombstone. Viva Viva! becomes her mantra.About the AuthorRomalyn Tilghman’s award-winning debut novel, To the Stars Through Difficulties, became a book club and library favorite and a best-seller in Germany. Romalyn enjoyed a career in arts management, working with the National Endowment for the Arts, private foundations, and nonprofit organizations. She served on the board of Americans for the Arts and other national boards and review panels. She received BA and MS degrees from the University of Kansas and studied writing at UCLA.Praise for The Obit Habit“The Obit Habit reminds us to celebrate our brief time on the planet with authenticity and verve. Our heroine Viva lives up to her name; her aliveness vibrates right off the page, as does Romalyn Tilghman’s wit and warmth. A deeply satisfying, life affirming novel.”—Gayle Brandeis, winner of the Bellwether Prize and author of Drawing Breath: Essays on Writing, the Body, and Loss“Romalyn Tilghman’s writing is both poetic and incisive, capturing the experiences of human relationships and the complexities of grief. The novel is populated with a cast of vividly drawn characters, each grappling with their own struggles and aspirations . . .”—Carol Thompson for Readers’ Favorite“The writing is stellar, weaving grief, admiration, frustration, respect, joy, and humor into the dialogue and the narration . . .”—Donna Parrey for Readers’ Favorite Read more