Book cover of "How the Light Gets In" by Joyce Maynard, featuring a painting of a cozy bedroom with a bed, bedside lamp, and window, with soft, muted colors.

HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN

A luminous novel about love, rupture, and resilience—an unflinching exploration of how truth and tenderness find their way into even the most broken places.

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What People are Saying

  • “If ever we needed a novel capable of healing our troubled, world-weary souls, that time is now. But where, oh where, is the book? Actually, it has arrived: Joyce Maynard’s new novel, How the Light Gets In. And what a gift it is.”

    — Richard Russo, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Empire Falls and the North Bath Trilogy of Fool novels

  • “Joyce Maynard has stitched together a warm, rich patchwork quilt of a novel that reminds us history is made up simply of our stories; and that even in broken, imperfect things one finds beauty and strength.”

    — Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author

  • "Joyce Maynard’s How the Light Gets In grabbed ahold of me in the first chapter and didn’t let go until I’d finished the epilogue. A master storyteller at the top of her game, Maynard populates her story with characters I worried about, rooted for, and related to. I LOVED this book!"

    — Wally Lamb, #1 New York Times bestselling author

  • “In How the Light Gets In, Joyce Maynard casts her clear eye over all we have endured thus far in our still-young century, illustrating as she does just how we have endured it: through bumbling luck and enduring love, hope, persistence, the consolations of nature, the comfort of daily work. A novel that understands how grace accrues over time in families, making the past bearable, the future possible. A wise and lovely book.”

    — Alice McDermott, National Book Award-winning author

  • “In turns joyful and heartbreaking, How the Light Gets In is a wise and bittersweet portrait of a complicated family. Joyce Maynard writes the kind of books that readers adore – bighearted, beautifully crafted, propulsively readable, and full of flawed and fickle characters who make difficult decisions and big mistakes, stumbling through life and love, trying to do their best. A word of advice: clear your calendar before you start reading!”

    — Adrienne Brodeur, nationally bestselling author of Little Monsters and Wild Game

  • “How the Light Gets In feels like a conversation with a trusted sister about a wide circle of family members in order to discover their secrets and hopes. The story of Eleanor and her family is told in marvelous loops that fill in the gaps between the past and the present, the personal and the news of the day, difficult challenges and their remedies. Joyce Maynard has given us another generous, satisfying novel: she is a wonder.”

    — Alice Elliott Dark, author of Fellowship Point and In the Gloaming

  • “A fearlessly candid, heartrendingly forthright examination of the joys and terrors of family life from the perspective of a woman of unusual sensitivity and empathy, Count the Ways takes us on a memorable journey.”

    — Joyce Carol Oates

  • “Joyce Maynard is the queen of the family saga, and Count the Ways is the best! Instantly addicting, the story of Eleanor, Cam, and their children pulls you in and wraps itself around you like an heirloom quilt made of familiarity, intimacy, and the orchestral complexity of loving the people closest to us. This is the novel you’ll be longing to return to at the end of every day and one you will re-read for years to come.”

    — Jenna Blum, New York Times bestselling author of Those Who Save Us and The Lost Family

QUESTIONS FOR YOUR BOOK CLUB

Group of women gathered in a living room, sitting and standing around a coffee table, some holding wine glasses, smiling for a photo with a woman on a video call on a laptop in the foreground.

1. How the Light Gets In is a sequel to Count the Ways but can stand alone as well. If you read this as a sequel how do you think the books compare?

2. Toby is a memorable character in this novel. Why do you think so many readers feel such a strong protectiveness over him?

3. Which character do you think showed the most growth throughout the book and why?

4. Eleanor thinks that “Ursula speaks a new language now- vocabulary of therapy.” What does this mean to you?

5. Why does Eleanor feel so strong about keeping her relationship with Guy a secret?

6. Did the twist at the family meeting called by Al and Teresa surprise you? What about Ursula’s friendship with Kat; did you see that coming?

7. The art of Kintsugi is based on the idea of repairing broken objects in a way that will transform it into something more beautiful than the original piece. Look up photos of bowls made using this art medium. How do they compare to Cam’s burl wood bowls?

8. What did you think about Guy? Was he good for Eleanor or not? Why?

9. Music is an important theme that runs through the book? Were you familiar with any of the musicians from in the book? Did the song titles inspire you to look up the lyrics of the songs?

10. Eleanor is figuring out that it’s okay to not be able to fix the unfixable and that her adult children’s problems are their problems to solve. Do you think that mothers, in general, struggle with this?

11. Would you read or buy The Mineral Man graphic novel that Eleanor was working on? Why or why not?

12. Although the book seamlessly wraps up Eleanor’s story, are there any characters that you’d like to have their own novella, as a prequel or sequel?

BOOK CLUBS!

If you would like me to join your Zoom meeting, please send a note to my assistant, Gina Alligood, at writewithjoycemaynard@gmail.com. (As schedules allow.)