Awake

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

“An affirmation of personal power, of the importance of female friendships, and our deep need for joy.” —Oprah Daily
“A MASTERPIECE, you guys. This memoir by the great Jen Hatmaker *cannot* be missed.” —Elin Hilderbrand

From Jen Hatmaker—beloved New York Times bestselling author and host of the For the Love podcast—a brutally honest, funny, and revealing memoir about the traumatic end of her twenty-six-year-long marriage, and the beginning of a different kind of love story.

At 2:30 a.m. on July 11, 2020, Jen Hatmaker woke up to her husband of twenty-six years whispering into his phone to another woman from their bed. It was the end of life as she knew it. In the months that followed, she went from being a shiny, funny, popular leader to a divorced wreck on antidepressants and antianxiety meds, parenting five kids alone with no clue about the functioning of her own bank accounts. Having led millions of women for over a decade—urging them to embrace authenticity, find radical agency, and create healthy relationship—she felt like a catastrophic failure.

Spanning five decades—from girlhood through marriage and parenting—in brutally honest, surprisingly funny vignettes, Jen lays bare the disorienting upheaval of midlife and dares to question the systems beneath the whole house of cards. More than one woman’s story, Awake is a critical analysis of the story given to all of us: the story of gender limitations, religious subservience, body shame, self-erasure. With refreshing candor, Jen explores a midlife renaissance—grieving what’s lost, cherishing possibility, and entering the second half of life wide awake.

For the women suddenly lost in the middle of their own story. For the women who are numb from sitting amid the rubble of a life they thought was well lived. For the women who are asking themselves how they got here—and if there’s anywhere to go—Awake is a reminder that there is always a next chapter, and you can write it yourself.