Between Chapters - by Zibby Owens (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"Bombeckian brevity and wit." --The New York Times

For anyone in the messy middle--of a marriage, a loss, an emptying house, or a life that no longer fits.

You're not starting over. You're between chapters.

In forty short, funny, honest essays, Zibby Owens writes about what happens when the life you carefully built stops looking like the life you thought you'd have--and you have to figure out who you are now.

Over one tumultuous decade, her life comes apart and slowly, surprisingly, comes back together: a divorce that upends her family, a second chance at love, four kids and countless shared-custody handoffs, the death of her stepfather, friendships gained and lost, and the books that carry her through it all.

There's the birds-and-bees talk that goes spectacularly wrong. The inflatable raft at sleepaway camp she cannot climb. Weight lost and found. A zillion mistakes. And the unglamorous work of becoming someone new when the old script no longer fits.

Read it straight through or one essay at a time--each takes just a few minutes. As Susan Orlean puts it, Between Chapters is "as warm and engaging as morning coffee with a best friend."

For anyone navigating divorce, grief, an empty nest, reinvention--or simply wondering what comes next.

And for the friend who's between chapters: when you don't know what to say, give her this.

Audiobook read by the author.

Review Quotes

"In [Between Chapters], [Zibby] explores, with Bombeckian brevity and wit, transitional moments in her life."
--Elisabeth Egan, The New York Times

"Zibby Owens writes like a woman with her life cracked wide open--and the courage to look straight inside. Between Chapters is funny, tender, unflinching, and so deeply human. These essays meet us in the messy middle of becoming, where nothing is certain but everything is alive. If you've ever found yourself starting over, questioning everything, or scribbling your way through the chaos just to make sense of it, you will feel profoundly seen here. This book is a companion, a permission slip, and a reminder: it is never too late to rewrite your story."
--Jen Hatmaker, author of Awake

"It's wonderful! Intimate, frank, and familiar, Between Chapters is pure delight. It is as warm and engaging as morning coffee with a best friend. Zibby parses the joys and pains of midlife awakening and reinvention in these bite-sized essays, each one landing with authenticity and humor and honesty."
--Susan Orlean, author of Joyride

​​"A reminder to us all that the messy middle of life is no joke! Disarmingly honest, funny, and a raw exploration of the choices we make and why we make them."
--Amy Griffin, author of The Tell

"Funny, moving, and wonderfully relatable. With her signature wit, Zibby reflects on the many roles that shape a life--mom, author, entrepreneur, wife, friend. Each essay leaves you smiling, nodding, or seeing your own life a little more clearly. I absolutely loved it!"
--Fran Hauser, author of The Myth of the Nice Girl and owner of Bedford Books

"An inspiring story about reinvention, entrepreneurship, motherhood, and finding your people."
--Bobbi Brown, author of Still Bobbi and founder of Jones Road Beauty

"Delightful. This will resonate with so many women! Zibby creates a colorful pastiche of an unabashedly honest New York mom, proving we crystallize into our bravest and best selves in middle age, and that it's never too late for a career reboot, and the best is yet to come."
--Jill Kargman, creator of "Odd Mom Out" and author of Momzillas

"Like having coffee with an old friend--Zibby's essays are dishy, refreshingly honest, and true. Grab your cappuccino and catch up with Zibby in this fresh and funny new book."
--Eileen Heisler & DeAnn Heline, creators and executive producers of The Middle

"I loved this book and read it in one sitting! Warm, funny, and deeply moving, Between Chapters captures the moment so many women reach in midlife when they realize the script they've been following no longer fits. With humor and honesty, it reminds us that starting over isn't failure, it's the beginning of the most authentic chapter yet."
--Elyce Arons, author of We Might Just Make it After All: My Best Friendship with Kate Spade

"Zibby's memoir-in-essays is so real, so honest about marriage and having kids and work and community. Funny, brave, and sometimes heartbreaking--really, it's all the best adjectives."
--Caroline Leavitt, author of Days of Wonder

"It's completely terrific. I absolutely love it."
--Katie Sise, author of You Must Be New Here

"Owens presents a collection of essays detailing her wild and wonderful life experiences. The essays are fun, short, and easy to read. Readers of vulnerable memoirs such as Jen Hatmaker's Awake will love this one."
--Booklist

"Heartfelt and often humorous, this will make moms juggling parenting and a personal life feel seen."
--Publishers Weekly

"Zibby has written a powerful collection of essays that captures, with precision and empathy, what it means to be a mother, a professional, and a creative person in today's world. Her story is also courageous--leaving behind a marriage that no longer served her in pursuit of a life that truly does. This book left me feeling connected and inspired, a reminder to keep moving forward and embrace the risks that come with living fully. I can't wait to share it with our community and with readers who will be equally moved by its honesty and bravery."
--Jen Bird, Owner, Athena Books

"Zibby Owens's collection of essays about parenting, writing, and well, life, is unflinchingly honest, eloquently written, and hard to put down. Save it for when you're in the mood to sit down with a friend and jump into her life for a little while."
--Gayle Weiswasser, Co-owner & Bookseller, Wonderland Books

"Zibby offers hope that it's never too late to revolutionize your life: build the career you've always dreamed of having, marry the person who brings out the best in you, and still raise resilient children. And she believes, as I do, that the comfort you seek can probably be found in your next book!"
--Lauren Cardick, owner of Matchmaker Bookshop

About the Author

Zibby Owens is the bestselling author and editor of six books including Blank, Bookends, Princess Charming, and On Being Jewish Now, which has spent 29 weeks on the USA Today bestseller list. She has contributed to Vogue, Oprah Daily, Good Morning America, and the Washington Post, and writes a bestselling weekly Substack. Owens hosts the award-winning podcast Totally Booked with Zibby and the weekly TV show Totally Booked with Zibby on JBS (Jewish Broadcasting Service). A frequent speaker, moderator and broadcast guest, Owens is known for highlighting the book industry's most anticipated new releases and emerging authors. In 2021 she founded Zibby Media with the launch of Zibby Publishing and unique year-round hosted retreats and events for book lovers. In 2023, she opened Zibby's Bookshop, the independent bookstore in Santa Monica, CA. A graduate of Yale University and Harvard Business School, Owens, a mother of four, lives in New York and L.A. with her husband.