Ann Napolitano’s first novel is coming back into print, Today.com reports.
The Dial Press will publish a new edition of the author’s debut, Within Arm’s Reach, next year. The novel, originally published in 2004 by Shaye Areheart Books/Harmony, follows three generations of an Irish American Catholic family whose lives are thrown into disarray after a pregnancy; a critic for Kirkus praised it as “a fresh and exceptionally strong family portrait, mercifully free of the sentimentality that could easily have turned the proceedings into a soap opera.”
Napolitano followed up her debut with A Good Hard Look in 2011, and nine years after that, scored a bestseller with Dear Edward, which Today show co-host Jenna Bush Hager selected for her book club. That novel was adapted into an Apple TV+ series earlier this year.
Her most recent novel, Hello Beautiful, was published in March, and was the 100th pick for Oprah Winfrey’s book club.
Napolitano shared the news of her debut’s republication on Instagram, writing, “I’m proud of my younger self for writing this novel. I had so little belief in my writing ability when I wrote it, so little belief in my right to be a writer at all, that it feels miraculous and brave that I summoned this story and put it down on the page.”
Within Arm’s Reach is scheduled for publication on May 28, 2024.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
