April 21, 2025

Are We Inheriting Legacy or a Family Curse?

In so many ways, this book is a huge departure for me, but in this essential way, I think it’s a natural continuation of what I’ve always done.

Are We Inheriting Legacy or a Family Curse?

In so many ways, this book is a huge departure for me, but in this essential way, I think it’s a natural continuation of what I’ve always done.

Dear  reader,

While I was starting to dream up my next book, one of my closest friends was pregnant. And the further she got into her pregnancy, she told me, the angrier she found herself. The realities of being a woman of the world were so baked into her at that point—as they are for so many of us—that she didn’t spend much time thinking over, worrying, or raging about any of it. Until she started realizing she was having a daughter. A daughter who would have to face all of the unfair, painful, terrifying things about being alive on this planet. And what had felt acceptable for my friend to experience herself felt unbearable as a future for her new baby. She wanted something better, something more for this person she loved so much.

That’s sort of what love is, I think: an inclination, a need on someone else’s behalf that outweighs your own. Sometimes we know how to fulfill those needs, sometimes we don’t, and sometimes it’s simply an impossible task.

I thought a lot about this while I was writing Great Big Beautiful Life. It might be the cornerstone of the whole book—the way that children inherit the world we give them, for better and worse, then grow up and pass it all along to the next generation. Sometimes we call it legacy, and sometimes it’s more of a family curse. Sometimes, maybe usually, it’s both. We do the best we can, in the circumstances we’re given, and we hope that it’s a little better, wiser, kinder than what came before us.

In so many ways, this book is a huge departure for me, but in this essential way, I think it’s a natural continuation of what I’ve always done. It’s a story of imperfect people, trying their hardest, getting it right some of the time and very wrong at others, and then looking for the hope and courage to try again, to make a better world for those they love. Ultimately, I think—I have to believe—that’s what most of us are doing.

I hope that Margaret, Alice, and Hayden’s story leaves you a little stronger and more hopeful than when you started reading it. I hope it makes you pick up the phone to call someone you love. And most of all, I hope you have a wonderful time reading it.

Welcome to this great, big, beautiful life!

Xo,

Emily Henry

We can’t believe it’s been 3 years since From Scratch was released! We’re celebrating with a sneak peek of @tembilocke’s new immersive audiobook, Someday Now. Hear her read a passage from the breathtaking memoir about family, reclaiming possibility, and uncharted new chapters. Head to our link in bio to start listening now!
We’re taking our copy of Gone Before Goodbye on a little coffee date this weekend ☕📖 
Link in bio for book tour tickets and to get your own copy!

Where are you reading yours this weekend?
Had the most amazing time connecting with the Reese’s Book Club community IRL at #ShineAway2025 last weekend! ✨ @RaeganRevord and @TembiLocke picked up some incredible book recs that we are immediately adding to our TBR. Drop your must-reads below!
This Thursday's coffee and current read is an iced matcha and our new favorite eco-fiction mystery, Bog Queen by @AnnaNorthBooks. Talk about a perfect combo!
Bog Queen is now available, including at our link in bio.
We’re incredibly lucky to have the incomparable and inspiring @Malala join us on Bookmarked, the Reese's Book Club podcast. 💛

She's a powerful voice for so many—championing causes like girls’ education and women’s rights. In her new memoir Finding My Way, Malala Yousafzai turns inward, exploring the messy, beautiful journey of rediscovering yourself after the world has already decided who you’re supposed to be.

In this episode, @DanielleRobay and @Malala's conservation has all the heart—and then some. Listen now on the @iHeartPodcast app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you love to listen. 🎧
Did not see that coming! Gone Before Goodbye by @ReeseWitherspoon & @HarlanCoben is here and you don't want to miss another second. 

Start reading at our link in bio.
Diving back into the brilliant Anita de Monte Laughs Last after hearing @XochitltheG’s powerful conversation with @DanielleRobay at Shine Away.

Feeling deeply inspired by the vibrant storytelling and the beauty woven into every word.
Sorry, we're booked.

It's official! Pick up your copy of Gone Before Goodbye by @ReeseWitherspoon & @HarlanCoben at our link in bio.
Shop the Reese's Book Club Space with us at #ShineAway2025! ☀️@ZibbysBookshop brought the perfect vibes and of course, so many fantastic reads to add to our TBRs.

Which three books would you chose and why?
Today we honor Indigenous voices like our September Pick author @ElianaRamage. ⭐

With honesty and heart, To The Moon and Back shows us what it means to search for a sense of self—and emerge proud.