In honor of their 35th wedding anniversary, Kitty and Clem Johanssen set off on what's supposed to be a dream vacation: a gracious cruise up the East Coast from New Yrok to Montreal But in a hectic rush to embark, Clem foolishly loses his cash to a couple of street swindlers. Unbeknownst to Kitty, the incident sets off a profound introspection of Clem's weaknesses, regrets, and mortality--amplified by the sudden appearance of his old war buddy-turned politician, T. McCollough Boyle, druing a shore excursion. As Clem grows more distant throughout the trip, Kitty falls in with an attractive--and mysterious-- Englishman named Toby Knight, who offers eveything Clem doesn't: grace, charm, and hopefulness. Now, the slowly smoldering confrontations of the last three decades--the deep-seated resentments, half-buried insecurities and burning passions--will surface in a confrontation so powerful it will test the limits of the couple's love. At once unsettling and compassionate, "As Long as He Needs Me" is a psychological novel of faith, memory, love and the unyielding supremacy of time..