I Hope This Finds You Well: A Novel

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • Recommended by the New York Times Book Review, Today show, People, Elle, Good Housekeeping, Parade, Harper's Bazaar, and more!

"Fans of The Office will delight." — SHELBY VAN PELT • "Wickedly funny." — PEOPLE • "I could not put it down." â€” JULIA QUINN • "A workplace sitcom transformed into a romantic comedy novel." — ELLE

In this wildly funny and heartwarming office comedy, an admin worker accidentally gains access to her colleagues’ private emails and DMs and decides to use this intel to save her job—a laugh-till-you-cry debut novel you’ll be eager to share with your entire list of contacts, perfect for fans of Anxious People and Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine.

As far as Jolene is concerned, her interactions with her colleagues should start and end with her official duties as an admin for Supershops, Inc. Unfortunately, her irritating, incompetent coworkers don’t seem to understand the importance of boundaries. Her secret to survival? She vents her grievances in petty email postscripts, then changes the text color to white so no one can see. That is until one of her secret messages is exposed. Her punishment: sensitivity training (led by the suspiciously friendly HR guy, Cliff) and rigorous email restrictions.

When an IT mix-up grants her access to her entire department’s private emails and DMs, Jolene knows she should report it, but who could resist reading what their coworkers are really saying? And when she discovers layoffs are coming, she realizes this might just be the key to saving her job. The plan is simple: gain her boss’s favor, convince HR she’s Supershops material, and beat out the competition.

But as Jolene is drawn further into her coworkers' private worlds and realizes they are each keeping secrets, her carefully constructed walls begin to crumble—especially around Cliff, who she definitely cannot have feelings for. Eventually she will need to decide if she’s ready to leave the comfort of her cubicle, even if that means coming clean to her colleagues.

Crackling with laugh-out-loud dialogue and relatable observations, I Hope This Finds You Well is a fresh and surprisingly tender comedy about loneliness and love beyond our computer screens. This sparkling debut novel will open your heart to the everyday eccentricities of work culture and the undeniable human connection that comes along with it.

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352 pages

Average rating: 6.64

312 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

jwhitney
Apr 24, 2025
A fun read about a woman who gains access to the whole company’s emails and learns that sometimes the parts of people they let us see often hide a lot about who they really are and the struggles in their lives. One review described it as “Office Space meets Fleabag”, which, yeah, pretty good descriptor. We were all really impressed by how authentic and believable the characters were, especially the main character. Even when her self-sabotaging behavior was frustrating, we admired how the author really was able to portray a real person dealing with real struggles. Overall very cute!
Michalmarie123
Apr 12, 2025
Melissa - struggled
Zoe E.
Mar 17, 2025
7/10 stars
I feel like this book is done a disservice by its ad copy. It's amusing in its depictions of the indignities of modern office culture, but it's far from a laugh riot. Instead our protagonist Jolene has social anxiety, unresolved grief and trauma, and suffers from alcoholism. She alternately lashes out and withdraws, and makes questionable decisions that can make it hard to root for her (though I did!). Then everything ties up super neatly at the end in a rom-com arc. I thought the writing was good and the romance was sweet and there were some serious themes raised, but ultimately the book isn't done favors by the smashing together of genres/tones.
1mrsbeck
Jan 10, 2025
8/10 stars
Really funny likable characters that have you feeling so many different emotions
Zamokuhle
Jan 03, 2025
9/10 stars
Natalie Sue’s I Hope This Finds You Well is an absolute gem! It’s laugh-out-loud hilarious, and I couldn’t get enough of the main character, Jolene, with her sharp wit and biting sarcasm. I saw so much of myself in her humour and sarcasm What sets this book apart, though, is its depth. While it’s undeniably funny, it also delves into serious issues like abuse, mental health, and depression with incredible compassion and sincerity. The story has a way of sneaking up on you emotionally, delivering a gut punch when you least expect it. As we uncover each character’s hidden struggles, the coworkers who initially seemed like stereotypical “bad colleagues” transform into fully realised, complex individuals. Through Jolene’s journey, we see their humanity and understand the motivations behind their behaviour. This book didn’t just entertain me—it genuinely inspired me. It opened my eyes to the importance of empathy in everyday life, even in places like the workplace where we often overlook it. I wasn’t expecting to walk away from a workplace comedy feeling so touched and introspective, but that’s the magic of Natalie Sue’s writing. Highly recommend it! You’ll laugh, cry, and maybe even see the world a little differently.

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