Loved One (Paperback)

Named a Best Book of 2025 by NPR and Newsweek

“[A] funny, heartwrenching novel.” — People

“A genuine pleasure to read.” — Vogue

“Full of wildly astute, delectably thorny questions about love and loss and possession.” — Maggie Shipstead, New York Times bestselling author of Great Circle

A tender story “about who we love and who we are” (Town & Country), from an Emmy Award–winning writer of Hacks, Parks and Recreation, and The Good Place.

After falling in love one summer in Barcelona, Gabe and Julia go their separate ways—she to college, and he to pursue his dream of becoming a singer-songwriter. Years later, they reconnect in Los Angeles, forming a close friendship that becomes a steady anchor through the uncertainty and chaos of their twenties.

But just before Julia’s thirtieth birthday, Gabe—now a semi-famous indie musician—suffers a tragic accident and is found dead in his hotel room. Reeling from the loss, Julia begins to reconsider the complicated, unresolved history of their relationship.

She travels to London to meet Gabe’s last love, Elizabeth, and retrieve some of his belongings for his mother. But beneath that practical mission lies a deeper question Julia can barely admit to herself: Who were she and Gabe really to each other?

As she searches for answers, Julia must confront whether knowing the truth will finally bring clarity—or make the loss even harder to bear.