Her Turn

By: Katherine Ashenburg

Narrated by: Teri Schnaubelt

One of The Globe and Mail’s “Summer 2021 books preview: 40 hot reads that will captivate you”

One of Maclean’s’ “20 books you should read this summer”

For fans of Nora Ephron and Jennifer Weiner, here is Katherine Ashenburg's witty, contemporary new novel about a forty-something newspaper columnist navigating her bold next chapter, set in Washington against the 2015 US presidential primary.

In the autumn of 2015, forty-something journalist Liz is working at a national newspaper in Washington, D.C., where Hillary Clinton’s run for the presidency is the talk of the town. The divorced parent of a college-age son, she appears to lead a full, happy life: devoted friends, a job she adores, a breezy dating life. But deep inside, Liz is stalled in neutral, stuck in a clandestine affair with her boss and still brooding on her marriage, which ended in betrayal, hurt and anger ten years ago.

Liz’s job is to edit “My Turn,” a column of personal essays from readers. Her tidy life is upended when a submission about a marital squabble arrives from Nicole, the woman who had an affair with Liz’s husband and is now his wife. Wife Two has no idea that she is sending an essay to Wife One, and Liz keeps this secret as she engages in an increasingly personal critique of the piece. But the existence of the essay destabilizes Liz, and she starts acting erratically—publishing provocative essays that infuriate her colleagues, investing in a pile of unread self-help books about “forgiveness” and indulging in questionable romantic decisions. Soon she is caught in a tangled web of her own making, with no easy escape.

A smart, wise and witty novel with moving depths beneath its delightful surface.

Critic reviews

“Her Turn is a heartfelt comedy whose accomplished breeziness nevertheless portrays a complex protagonist going through a momentous season of mid-life growing pains. . . . Ashenburg ratchets up the novel’s farcical elements while simultaneously meditating on forgiveness and moral growth. Balancing silly and laugh-aloud with sobering, pensive and emotionally gratifying is no small feat, and yet Ashenburg . . . writes with the sure-footedness of a lifetime reader."
—Toronto Star

“[A] Nora Ephron-esque comedy of social manners.”
—The Globe and Mail

"What a gem this novel is. Hilarious, wise, and humane, Her Turn follows one woman’s twisting path through a maze of love and betrayal and forgiveness. It is infused with the joyful spirit of Nora Ephron and lit with a charm all its own.”
—Elizabeth Renzetti, author of Based on a True Story

"Ashenburg’s gratifying latest follows a journalist who starts a dubious friendship with her ex-husband’s wife. . . . With its fruitful examination of betrayal and forgiveness, Ashenburg’s engrossing [novel] should appeal to fans of Nora Ephron.”
—Publishers Weekly

“This portrait of a contemporary woman (set firmly in 2015) is a striking analysis of journalism, adultery, divorce, parenting teenagers, and caring for elderly parents; perfect for fans of Emma Straub.”
—Booklist

“Ashenburg writes candidly about a complex character. . . . Liz is never shamed for wanting love, sex, or companionship, although she often goes about it the wrong way. None of the characters are written off as easy 'bad guys,' not even Liz’s ex-husband or his new wife. . . . A look at betrayal and forgiveness that nicely balances humor and depth.”
—Kirkus Reviews