The following version of this book was used to create this guide: Offill, Jenny. Weather. Alfred A. Knopf, 2020.

Set in modern day New York, the novel’s first person narrator, a middle-aged woman named Lizzie Benson, is introduced as an observant librarian. Lizzie has many responsibilities inside and outside of the library, one of which is taking care of her recently drug addicted brother. Lizzie is also married to a man named Ben, and takes on many responsibilities in caring for their pre-school aged son Eli.

Because Lizzie spends so much time caring for others, such as her brother and mother, she is labeled as a “fake shrink” (99). This is only made more true when Lizzie’s former college mentor, Sylvia, offers her a job. Sylvia runs a popular podcast that focuses on political and social issues, and as a result, she receives many e-mails from fans. Since Sylvia is the one who secured Lizzie a library job even though she dropped out of college, Lizzie decides to take on this new responsibility of answering the fan’s questions.

Lizzie also takes the time to attend meditation classes run by her friend Margot. Lizzie sees Margot as the real version of what she pretends to be, as Margot offers her students life advice. However, even with the aid of meditation classes, Lizzie cannot help but to succumb to her many anxieties. She fears that Ben is losing interest in her, that she is failing as a mother, and that her brother may turn to suicide.

As Lizzie tends to Sylvia’s e-mails, she begins to worry for the wellbeing of the podcast’s fans. On top of that, with Sylvia’s podcast centering around topics like climate change, Lizzie develops a fear that there is an impending apocalypse on the rise.

When Henry starts dating a woman named Catherine, Lizzie hopes that he will no longer need her emotional support. Catherine soon becomes pregnant and she and Henry marry. Though Lizzie feels that this is good for Henry, he insists that he cannot imagine that he will be a good father.

Things only grow worse when Catherine gives birth to her and Henry’s baby girl, Iris. Now that he is a father, Henry needs Lizzie’s constant support. Lizzie begins spending most of her time caring for her brother, as she begins to worry he may have a drug relapse. As a result, she feels that there is distance growing between her, Ben, and Eli.

During all of this, the presidential election takes place in the background of Lizzie’s life. When it comes to an end and a new president is elected, Lizzie notices that everyone seems to be falling into a state of despair. The political climate grows hostile, and more and more people come to believe that the end times are near. Eventually, Sylvia submits to this despair and gives up on her podcast.

Eventually, Henry does relapse, and cheats on Catherine in the progress. When Catherine discovers this, she immediately files for a divorce. With Henry now living at Lizzie’s home, her life becomes centered around his problems. Ben tells Lizzie that she needs to step back and spend more time with him and Eli. However, when Ben invites Lizzie to go on vacation, she tells him she must stay with Henry.

While Ben and Eli are away, Lizzie meets an attractive man named Will. Lizzie enjoys her time with Will, as he seems interested in her thoughts on the apocalypse. As the two spend much of their time together, she feels herself developing romantic feelings for him. However, once Lizzie begins to miss Ben, she decides not to pursue a sexual relationship with Will.

Eventually, Will leaves the state and Ben and Eli return home. Lizzie decides to go to both the dentist and the doctor, as she has put off those appointments for many years. Though she fears these checkups for the possibility that she will discover she is dying, they both go well. Lizzie then decides to pray for the first time in a long time. She prays for mercy, strength, and grace.

Though Henry still lives with Lizzie and Ben, she notes that he is finally making progress. When Henry receives a plastic chip as a symbol of his six month long sobriety, he places it in his wallet. Though Lizzie still has nightmares of the world’s end, her life remains relatively normal.