When You Read This

On his first day of work at a struggling brand management firm, an ambitious intern discovers a blog created by his predecessor, Iris Massey. Iris, he quickly learns, died a few months earlier, leaving a hole in the life of the firm's morose boss, Smith. Now, stuck at his desk all day, Carl-the-Intern - whose sky-high aspirations are thwarted only by Smith's sluggishness - gets hooked on Iris's blog, and the stories she tells about the life she left behind.

Determined to share her story, Carl and Smith soon track down Iris' sister Jade, an haute cuisine chef who's been knocked sideways by her loss, finding solace only in potato chips and red wine. Smith and Jade, tied together by their mutual grief and each carrying their own baggage, end up on a collision course: with their own unresolved pasts, and also with each other.

Funny and moving in equal measures, WHEN YOU READ THIS is a sparkling debut about love, life, and all the emails you really wish you'd never sent.

This gentle tragicomedy unfolds in a series of text messages, blog posts and emails . . . while dealing sensitively with loss Daily Mail
When You Read This checks all the essential boxes of Up Lit - thought-provoking, tear-jerking, funny- and adds a delectable epistolary twist. Refinery29
A touching, funny, and life-affirming tale Publishers Weekly
As with Maria Semple's mixed-media masterwork Where'd You Go, Bernadette, Adkins's debut novel is so much more than its clever style. I read it briskly with a permanent smile on my face, even when the tears were falling . . . miraculous and leaves a lasting impression long after its final moment -- Val Emmich, author of The Reminders and Dear Evan Hansen: The Novel
A remarkable new take on the epistolary novel, When You Read This manages to thread the finest of needles: a book about a young woman who died of cancer that is neither maudlin nor sentimental, but rather clear-eyed, poignant, and just as often hilarious as it is sombre . . . memorable -- Doree Shafrir, author of Startup: A Novel
Warm, original, funny and heartbreaking, this novel made me drop everything so I could read it in one lovely afternoon . . . inventive and witty, but more importantly it's honest and wise. I adored it. -- Jennifer Close, author of Girls in White Dresses and The Hopefuls
Surpassed my expectations with flying colours. From the subject matter you might expect that reading the book would amount to taking your pleasures rather too sadly, but I was delighted by the humour in the plot. It's gentle, subtle humour which makes you smile . . . I loved the book and I know that it's one I'll return to before too long, to pick up on all the gems which I'm sure I've missed The Book Bag
This inventive and hilarious novel has it all: Mid-life crisis sufferers denying their regrets, a lawless intern with alarming email etiquette, poetic online therapists and a moving message about the resiliency of the human heart. Read this book - I loved it! -- Courtney Maum, author of Touch and I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You
Deeply moving but also uplifting, Mary Adkins' debut novel is easy to read but hard to forget -- Anne Youngson, author of Meet Me at the Museum
I loved every word...I couldn't put down! -- Meg Cabot
Mary has pulled off the trick of being both funny (every office should have Carl as an intern) while dealing, seriously, with serious subjects . . . deeply moving but also uplifting -- Anne Youngson, author of MEET ME AT THE MUSEUM
As with Maria Semple's mixed-media masterwork Where'd You Go, Bernadette, Adkins's debut novel is so much more than its clever style . . . WHEN YOU READ THIS feels miraculous and leaves a lasting impression long after its final moment. -- Val Emmich, author of The Reminders and Dear Evan Hansen: The Novel
This inventive and hilarious novel has it all: Mid-life crisis sufferers denying their regrets, a lawless intern with alarming email etiquette, poetic online therapists and a moving message about the resiliency of the human heart. Read this book-I loved it! -- Courtney Maum, author of I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You
A remarkable new take on the epistolary novel, WHEN YOU READ THIS manages to thread the finest of needles: a book about a young woman who died of cancer that is neither maudlin nor sentimental, but rather, clear-eyed and poignant. One of the more memorable books I've read this year -- Doree Shafrir, author of STARTUP: A NOVEL and co-host of Forever35 Podcast
Warm, original, funny and heartbreaking, this novel made me drop everything so I could read it in one lovely afternoon. I adored it -- Jennifer Close, author of Girls in White Dresses and The Hopefuls
A touching, funny, and life-affirming tale Publishers Weekly

Mary Adkins is a former lawyer living in New York. She teaches storytelling for The Moth and is an award-winning playwright. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, The Atlantic and more

On his first day of work at a struggling brand management firm, an ambitious intern discovers a blog created by his predecessor, Iris Massey. Iris, he quickly learns, died a few months earlier, leaving a hole in the life of the firm's morose boss, Smith. Now, stuck at his desk all day, Carl-the-Intern - whose sky-high aspirations are thwarted only by Smith's sluggishness - gets hooked on Iris's blog, and the stories she tells about the life she left behind.Determined to share her story, Carl and Smith soon track down Iris' sister Jade, an haute cuisine chef who's been knocked sideways by her loss, finding solace only in potato chips and red wine. Smith and Jade, tied together by their mutual grief and each carrying their own baggage, end up on a collision course: with their own unresolved pasts, and also with each other. Funny and moving in equal measures, WHEN YOU READ THIS is a sparkling debut about love, life, and all the emails you really wish you'd never sent.

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