Age: 71
male
Jimmy Smits is an acclaimed American actor known for his extensive work in high-stakes television drama and major film franchises. He gained widespread recognition for his lead roles as attorney Victor Sifuentes on L.A. Law, Detective Bobby Simone on NYPD Blue, and Congressman Matt Santos on The West Wing. In cinema, he is widely recognized for his supporting role as Senator Bail Organa in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, Rogue One, and the Obi-Wan Kenobi series. His career is distinguished by numerous honors, including a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe, alongside his role as a co-founder of the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts to support Latino talent in the entertainment industry.
When April and Leo’s house burns in the middle of the night, they escape with their two young children and the quiet knowledge that the fire is not the only thing threatening their family. They retreat to April’s childhood home in Dallas, where her spirited parents and siblings provide both comfort and complication. As the family reckons with the aftermath—grief, guilt, logistics, and memories scorched and intact—the fire exposes the cracks already forming in April and Leo’s marriage. The novel unfolds in alternating perspectives: from April, who feels the crushing weight of motherhood, marriage, and self-blame; from Leo, a high school history teacher shaped by a lonely, fractured childhood; from Deb, April’s generous and no-nonsense mother who has to contend with her husband’s recent Alzheimer’s diagnosis; and from flashbacks that trace April and Leo’s relationship from its earliest days of connection to the devastating decisions that led them here. A family saga suffused with humor, longing, and heartbreak, The Burning Side is about what we inherit and what we choose, about forgiveness and the ache of being known. It is, above all, about the meaning of home and the costs of long love.
