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A Novel
by Elizabeth Harris
A witty and whip-smart novel about love, marriage, and family ties stretched thin by ambition.
Meet Ethan and Gabe. A devoted couple for years, they have successful careers, an adorable daughter, and a house in the New Jersey suburbs. Sure, they may have drifted to different ends of the political spectrum, but their marriage still has its spark. Then one night Ethan makes an announcement: he wants to run for Congress as a Republican—but only if he has progressive Gabe's blessing. For weeks a slightly queasy Gabe struggles between supporting his husband and maintaining his own lefty ideals. He can feel himself slowly pulled under the tide of Ethan's ambitions, even as he becomes widely known as a conservative spouse.
In a nearby town, suburban mom Nicole wonders what happened to her younger self—living in New York City, freely dating men and women, and on a path to a career in the art world. Nicole feels like an accessory in her husband's life and like she's given up on the goals she had for herself. Then an old flame re-enters her life unexpectedly. That woman is Ethan's sister Kate.
A political reporter at a major newspaper, Kate has reached the top of her profession. But the adrenaline rush of chasing a story has lost its thrill. When Nicole—the woman who broke her heart—slides into her DMs just as her brother starts his controversial congressional run, Kate's life is thrown into a tailspin that threatens to derail the success she's worked so hard to achieve.
"A lively, of-the-moment political and domestic drama." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"The political material is a bit simplistic, but the characters are well-drawn, and the story moves at a brisk clip." —Publishers Weekly
"I tore through this timely novel of family, marriage, love and politics. By turns insightful, poignant and laugh-out-loud funny, How to Sleep at Night is a delight." —J. Courtney Sullivan, New York Times bestselling author of Friends and Strangers
"A sharply funny exploration of marriage and ambition, How to Sleep at Night has the feel of whispered secrets exchanged over cocktails with your smartest friend." —Jenny Jackson, New York Times bestselling author of Pineapple Street
"This wonderful debut is about the rough and tumble road that true love represents for all of us." —James McBride, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store
This information about How to Sleep at Night was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Elizabeth Harris is an award-winning reporter at the New York Times, where she covers books and the publishing industry. How To Sleep At Night is her first novel. She lives in New York City with her wife and kids.
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