When You Read This

This gentle tragicomedy unfolds in a series of text messages, blog posts and emails . . . while dealing sensitively with loss * Daily Mail * When You Read This checks all the essential boxes of Up Lit - thought-provoking, tear-jerking, funny- and adds a delectable epistolary twist. * Refinery29 * A touching, funny, and life-affirming tale * Publishers Weekly * As with Maria Semple's mixed-media masterwork Where'd You Go, Bernadette, Adkins's debut novel is so much more than its clever style. I read it briskly with a permanent smile on my face, even when the tears were falling . . . miraculous and leaves a lasting impression long after its final moment -- Val Emmich, author of The Reminders and Dear Evan Hansen: The Novel A remarkable new take on the epistolary novel, When You Read This manages to thread the finest of needles: a book about a young woman who died of cancer that is neither maudlin nor sentimental, but rather clear-eyed, poignant, and just as often hilarious as it is sombre . . . memorable -- Doree Shafrir, author of Startup: A Novel Warm, original, funny and heartbreaking, this novel made me drop everything so I could read it in one lovely afternoon . . . inventive and witty, but more importantly it's honest and wise. I adored it. -- Jennifer Close, author of Girls in White Dresses and The Hopefuls Surpassed my expectations with flying colours. From the subject matter you might expect that reading the book would amount to taking your pleasures rather too sadly, but I was delighted by the humour in the plot. It's gentle, subtle humour which makes you smile . . . I loved the book and I know that it's one I'll return to before too long, to pick up on all the gems which I'm sure I've missed * The Book Bag * This inventive and hilarious novel has it all: Mid-life crisis sufferers denying their regrets, a lawless intern with alarming email etiquette, poetic online therapists and a moving message about the resiliency of the human heart. Read this book - I loved it! -- Courtney Maum, author of Touch and I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You Deeply moving but also uplifting, Mary Adkins' debut novel is easy to read but hard to forget -- Anne Youngson, author of Meet Me at the Museum I loved every word...I couldn't put down! -- Meg Cabot Mary has pulled off the trick of being both funny (every office should have Carl as an intern) while dealing, seriously, with serious subjects . . . deeply moving but also uplifting -- Anne Youngson, author of MEET ME AT THE MUSEUM As with Maria Semple's mixed-media masterwork Where'd You Go, Bernadette, Adkins's debut novel is so much more than its clever style . . . WHEN YOU READ THIS feels miraculous and leaves a lasting impression long after its final moment. -- Val Emmich, author of The Reminders and Dear Evan Hansen: The Novel This inventive and hilarious novel has it all: Mid-life crisis sufferers denying their regrets, a lawless intern with alarming email etiquette, poetic online therapists and a moving message about the resiliency of the human heart. Read this book-I loved it! -- Courtney Maum, author of I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You A remarkable new take on the epistolary novel, WHEN YOU READ THIS manages to thread the finest of needles: a book about a young woman who died of cancer that is neither maudlin nor sentimental, but rather, clear-eyed and poignant. One of the more memorable books I've read this year -- Doree Shafrir, author of STARTUP: A NOVEL and co-host of Forever35 Podcast Warm, original, funny and heartbreaking, this novel made me drop everything so I could read it in one lovely afternoon. I adored it -- Jennifer Close, author of Girls in White Dresses and The Hopefuls A touching, funny, and life-affirming tale * Publishers Weekly *

Mary Adkins is a writer whose work has appeared in the New York Times and the Atlantic. A native of the American South and a graduate of Duke University and Yale Law School, she lives in New York City with her family. She also teaches storytelling for The Moth.