Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf

Another slice of life in Haruf's Holt, Colorado except this is an interesting exploration of the difference between intimacy and sex.  When Addie, in her 70's, invites her neighbor Louis to her house he is a little surprised.  Addie and his wife Diane had been friends but Diane had died a while back and it hadn't occurred to Louis be more than neighborly to Addie.  He was even more surprised to learn that Addie was inviting him to sleep with her.  Not to have sex but to have quiet conversations in the dark; to feel the companionship of someone next to her in bed.  After a short hesitation, he says yes.  And so they begin, the quiet intimate sharing as they lie next to each other, the truths they have never had the chance to say out loud even in their marriages, holding hands during the difficult revelations.  The town knows - some approve, others don't - but neither Addie or Louis really care - at first.  Written in Haruf's quiet simple style, it is small moments and conversations that stimulate reflection on the reader's own life experience.