Jenna Bush Hager took a break from maternity leave to unveil the latest selection for her popular book club.
The former first daughter and current Today co-host recommended Cara Wall’s debut novel, The Dearly Beloved, to viewers of the morning news show on Wednesday.
“Even though I’m on maternity leave, I read this book late at night, in the morning," Hager said. “It’s a book about faith, friendship, relationships and what connects us. I think it would be really interesting to read with your spouse and with friends. I told [my husband] Henry right after I finished it that I thought he should read it.”
Wall’s novel follows two couples struggling with family and faith through the decades. The author told Kirkus the book had been in the works for 13 years.
Hager’s #ReadWithJenna program has been one of the more popular celebrity book clubs. Previous books chosen by Hager for the club have included Nicole Dennis-Benn’s Patsy, Linda Holmes’ Evvie Drake Starts Over and Tara Conklin’s The Last Romantics.
Hager, a former editor-at-large for Southern Living magazine, is the author of the 2007 book Ana’s Story: A Journey of Hope. She wrote two children’s books with her mother, Laura Bush, Read All About It! and Our Great Big Backyard, and a joint memoir with her sister, Barbara Pierce Bush, Sisters First: Stories from Our Wild and Wonderful Life.
Michael Schaub is an Austin, Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
