“When you take positive steps in your life, the universe rewards you by making your path forward easier.”
What Kelly Says:
Amy Byler is the Cinderella of modern motherhood. She doesn’t kiss a prince to escape from her struggling circumstances. She takes his credit card.
I think there is a little Amy Byler inside most of us. She is living in a situation that’s just a little too much daily hardship and stress, working just a bit too hard, enjoying life just a little too little. It’s no wonder that the story of her vacation turned into a bestseller. But I think part of what I am so proud of about this book is how it endeavors to show how much more joy is out there when you are prepared to take just the slightest bit of care of yourself. This book is a call to action to mothers. Read more. Nap more. Ask for more. Martyr yourself less.
The Official Blurb:
A laugh-out-loud funny, pitch-perfect novel that will have readers rooting for this unlikely, relatable, and totally lovable heroine, The Overdue Life of Amy Byler is the ultimate escape—and will leave moms everywhere questioning whether it isn’t time for a #momspringa of their own.” —New York Journal of Books
Overworked and underappreciated, single mom Amy Byler needs a break. So when the guilt-ridden husband who abandoned her shows up and offers to take care of their kids for the summer, she accepts his offer and escapes rural Pennsylvania for New York City.
What SONJA says:
“Harms dances on the knife edge between snort-your-coffee humor and bull’s-eye insights, often in the same sentence.”
—Sonja Yoerg, #1 bestselling author of TRUE PLACES
Usually grounded and mild mannered, Amy finally lets her hair down in the city that never sleeps. She discovers a life filled with culture, sophistication, and—with a little encouragement from her friends—a few blind dates. When one man in particular makes quick work of Amy’s heart, she risks losing herself completely in the unexpected escape, and as the summer comes to an end, Amy realizes too late that she must make an impossible decision: stay in this exciting new chapter of her life, or return to the life she left behind.
But before she can choose, a crisis forces the two worlds together, and Amy must stare down a future where she could lose both sides of herself, and every dream she’s ever nurtured, in the beat of a heart.
Character Secrets
Amy: Though she appreciates the perfectly fitted bras and lovely outfits she got on her momspringa, she spent all of 2020 in sports bras and pajama pants.
Cori: She is definitely not done telling her story and fully intends to grow up into the kind of woman who will appear in a Kelly Harms book of her own.
Lena: She appears, very sneakily, in an upcoming book by Kelly.
About the Cover
Far background: New York city skyscape in cut paper. Near background, a brunette woman walking with purpose. Foreground: A stack of books whose spines are stamped with the book’s title.
What can I say about this cover? I got it in an email from my publisher when I was at a writing workshop. I tried to contain my delight but it was pointless, and soon I was showing the art to everyone I could find. Book trends are fickle and who knows how it will age, but boy was that jacket the perfect cover for the perfect moment. I will always be grateful to the team who put that together for me.
THE OVERDUE LIFE OF AMY BYLER is for fans of…
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Hot Librarians
Classic Young Adult Fiction
Fine Dining
Parenthood (Movie or TV)
You’ve Got Mail (and all Nora Ephron movies ever)
Clair Huxtable
