Our Souls at Night is Colorado author Kent Haruf’s last novel, and it was published in 2015, after his death. Like much of Haruf’s other writing, this novel is set in the fictional town of Holt, Colorado. The novel begins with 70-year-old Addie Moore making a proposition to her neighbor Louis Waters that they sleep together—literally, not sexually—in order to combat the loneliness that they often feel, especially at night. They have both lost their spouses and their children have moved away, so they turn to one another for companionship. Their bedtime conversations allow them to review their lives and share their regrets, mistakes, and joys with one another. However, rumors spread quickly in a small town, and soon the two must grapple with the reactions and misunderstandings of those around them.

This study guide refers to the 2015 Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group Kindle Edition.

Content Warning: The source text depicts the death of a child in a violent accident.

Plot Summary

Addie Moore and Louis Waters are widowed neighbors in their seventies. Addie proposes that they spend their nights together, just talking and sharing a bed for companionship, in an attempt to fight off the loneliness they both feel after their spouses’ deaths. Louis is intrigued, but he is also wary of what the neighbors might think. So, that night, he takes an alley to get to her house surreptitiously, but Addie tells him to enter by the front door the next time. She refuses to live her life hemmed in by other people’s opinions. As they begin spending their nights together, Addie and Louis begin opening up to each other. They exchange stories about their lives, which get increasingly personal as they spend more time together.

Addie shares that she met her husband Carl in college, but she dropped out at 20 when she became pregnant. She also confides in Louis about how her daughter, Connie, died when she was just 11: Her son Gene, who was only five at the time, chased his sister with a garden hose, and she ran into the street where a car hit her. After her death, Carl shut down emotionally and was especially harsh with Gene. Addie believes that Gene still bears emotional scars from that traumatic time.

Louis tells Addie that he had an extramarital affair with an English teacher named Tamara who was his colleague at the local high school. He ended up moving in with Tamara and her young daughter. However, Louis soon realized he had his own daughter to take care of. He returned home, and his wife Diane eventually forgave him. He also tells Addie about Diane’s death from cancer. He feels bad that Diane expected more out of him and her life than he could give her. Addie points out that most people’s lives don’t turn out the way they’d like since they aren’t able to ever truly connect with the people they love; however, she believes that she and Louis are lucky in this regard because they have found each other and can be completely open with one another.

Louis’s daughter Holly visits and tells him she’s heard rumors that he is sleeping with Addie. Holly thinks it’s embarrassing, but Louis tells her that if she doesn’t want him getting involved with her private life, then she should stay out of his. Soon after, Addie’s son Gene tells her that his wife Beverly has left him. To make matters worse, his business is failing. He asks Addie to let his six-year-old son Jamie stay with her for the summer while Gene attempts to find new work. Addie and Louis welcome Jamie into their lives. The boy is upset with all the changes he is experiencing and often cries in the middle of the night. Louis thinks Jamie would benefit from having a dog, and they get a rescue dog that Jamie names Bonny. This, combined with the loving attention he gets at Addie’s, helps the boy sleep better and feel more secure. Louis enjoys playing catch with Jamie, and the three of them even take a camping trip together.

Gene visits and tells Addie that he’s heard about her and Louis spending their nights together, and he wants it to stop. He thinks it’s harming Jamie and believes that Louis is just after Addie’s money. Addie defends Louis, and Gene leaves, saying he will be back in two weeks to pick up Jamie. In their final weeks with Jamie before the summer comes to an end, Addie and Louis take him on trips to the fair and to restaurants, making the most of their time together.

After Jamie leaves, Louis and Addie become physically intimate and emotionally closer. However, Gene arrives and confronts Addie because she hasn’t ended the relationship like he told her to. He blames Louis and Addie for Jamie’s frequent nightmares and demands that they stop seeing each other immediately. The tone of their relationship changes after this. They stop making love, and gradually, Louis stops spending the night at Addie’s. When Addie calls Gene, he refuses to let her speak to Jamie unless she ends things with Louis. She capitulates and breaks things off.

Time passes, and Addie and Louis are no longer in touch. Then, Addie falls and breaks her hip, and Gene has her moved to a hospital in Denver. Louis is very concerned when he hears about this and he visits, offering to help her when she returns home. However, Gene has arranged for Addie to move to an assisted living facility. Addie realizes that agreeing to this is the only way she can have a relationship with Jamie. Much later, Addie calls Louis from her apartment. She says she is very lonely and that she would like to call him at night, without Gene’s knowledge; she says they are once again two old people talking together at night.