Dear Edward

A Novel

By: Ann Napolitano

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY • “Make sure you have tissues handy when you read [this] sure-footed tearjerker” (NPR) about a young boy who must learn to go on after surviving tragedy, from the author of the Oprah’s Book Club pick Hello Beautiful.

Now streaming as an Apple TV+ series starring Connie Britton, written and executive produced by Jason Katims (Friday Night Lights and Parenthood)

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, Parade, LibraryReads

What does it mean not just to survive, but to truly live?

One summer morning, twelve-year-old Edward Adler, his beloved older brother, his parents, and 183 other passengers board a flight in Newark headed for Los Angeles. Among them are a Wall Street wunderkind, a young woman coming to terms with an unexpected pregnancy, an injured veteran returning from Afghanistan, a business tycoon, and a free-spirited woman running away from her controlling husband. Halfway across the country, the plane crashes. Edward is the sole survivor.

Edward’s story captures the attention of the nation, but he struggles to find a place in a world without his family. He continues to feel that a part of himself has been left in the sky, forever tied to the plane and all of his fellow passengers. But then he makes an unexpected discovery—one that will lead him to the answers of some of life’s most profound questions: When you’ve lost everything, how do you find the strength to put one foot in front of the other? How do you learn to feel safe again? How do you find meaning in your life?

Dear Edward is at once a transcendent coming-of-age story, a multidimensional portrait of an unforgettable cast of characters, and a breathtaking illustration of all the ways a broken heart learns to love again.

Praise for Dear Edward

“Dear Edward is that rare book that breaks your heart and stitches it back together during a reading experience that leaves you profoundly altered for the better.”—Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of Mad Honey

“Will lead you toward something wonderous, something profound.”—Kevin Wilson, New York Times bestselling author of Now Is Not the Time to Panic

©2020 Ann Napolitano (P)2020 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“A surprisingly uplifting story, full of hope and dry humor, with an underlying, noncloying message about the decency of strangers.”—The New York Times Book Review

“A harrowing yet ultimately optimistic story about the sole survivor of a plane crash.”—O: The Oprah Magazine

“A haunting novel that’s a masterful study in suspense, grief and survival . . . Napolitano’s fearless examination of what took place models a way forward for all of us. She takes care not to sensationalize, presenting even the most harrowing scenes in graceful, understated prose, and gives us a powerful book about living a meaningful life during the most difficult of times.”—The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice)