Eli Rallo returns to Jersey City to discuss her brand new book!

From New York Times bestselling author Eli Rallo, a debut novel following the lasting impact of a friendship breakup between two women who had been inseparable since childhood.

For Penelope Straker and Eden Willmington, the term "best friend" has never been enough. They’ve met every milestone and roadblock side-by-side (with Penny always in the lead), from first kisses, trying to "find" themselves at college, to mental health struggles, toxic relationships, and moving to New York City to start their "real lives". Amidst it all, their friendship was the one thing that was truly unbreakable. But now, they’re no longer speaking. 
 
Penny’s whole world has fallen apart. She’s self-sabotaging—missing meetings at work and convincing herself that all of her friends are hanging out without her. She can’t eat, think, or sleep, and is falling into bad habits, like ghosting her therapist and obsessively swiping on Hinge. This is worse than a breakup. Penny hasn’t just lost Eden… she’s lost her entire sense of self and understanding of her past.  
 
Now, Penny is revisiting moments of their two-plus decades of friendship trying to understand where things went so wrong. Told in alternating timelines, one tracing Penny and Eden’s history and the other unfolding in the immediate aftermath of the breakup, I Hope Eden Reads This asks the question: Is there any heartbreak more painful than the end of a friendship?

Eli Rallo is the New York Times bestselling author of Does Anyone Else Feel This Way? and I Didn’t Know I Needed This, and an internet creator with massive followings on TikTok and Instagram. She is a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and the founder of Prose Society, a weekly iHeartRadio podcast and book club. She is a graduate of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance, where she won several Hopwood awards including the Leonard and Eileen Newman Writing Prize in Fiction (2020). She lives a bicoastal but not actually bicoastal life between New York City and Houston and when she isn’t writing or reading, you can find her at piano bars belting out show tunes.

Jersey City Theater Center and WORD Bookstore are collaborating to bring this speaking event to Jersey City. Every ticket sold includes an autographed copy of Eli Rallo's new book. 

Follow @wordbookstores to learn about their upcoming events.Jersey City Theater Center (JCTC) is committed to making its programs and events accessible to all. If you require additional ADA accommodations, please contact JCTC at least two weeks in advance of the event to allow sufficient time for arrangements. Contact: Phone: (201) 795-5386; Email: [email protected]