Lost and Found Summary
Carolyn Parkhurst

Lost and Found Overview

Lost and Found is a novel by Carolyn Parkhurst in which a wide cast of characters compete to win one million dollars in a scavenger-hunt reality television show that requires them to travel around the world. The main characters include Laura and Cassie, a mother-daughter team who share a secret and a traumatic past; Carl and Jeff, two very different but emotionally close middle-aged brothers; Juliet and Dallas, two former child television stars whose fortunes have faded; and Abby and Justin, a married couple who underwent gay conversion therapy together. Parkhurst examines themes including the tensions between privacy and celebrity; the struggles of young gay people whose families do not accept them as they are; and the potential for healing and understanding between family members following betrayals and difficulties.