I'm Glad About You

The pathos and missed connections of One Day meet the hilarity of Crazy Rich Asians in this comedic and tender novel. Their meeting in a parking lot outside a high school football game was both completely forgettable and utterly life-changing. Because no matter how you look at it, it is piss-poor luck to meet the love of your life before your life has even started. Fierce and ambitious, Alison is determined to shed her Midwestern roots and emerge an actress. Kyle, all heart and spiritual yearning, believes medicine can heal the world. What could these mismatched souls have to do with each other? Everything and nothing. Even as their fates rocket them forward and apart, neither can fully let go of the past. When Alison gets her lucky break in New York City, she ends up on the fast track to stardom and a world far more different from Cincinnati than she could have ever imagined. Back home in Ohio, Kyle marries in haste and repents at leisure. Reluctantly embracing life in suburban hell, he becomes a pediatrician. While Kyle’s dreams begin to molder, Alison learns that the spotlight is always circled by shadows. As their lives inevitably intersect, Alison and Kyle must face each other in the revealing light of their decisions. I’m Glad About You is a glittering study of how far the compromises two people make will take them from the lives they were meant to live. **Review "Rebeck's take of two star-crossed Midwesterners passed my screen test with flying colors. . . . I found myself more invested in [Alison and Kyle] than I've been in any thwarted couple since Ross and Rachel dominated Thursday nights . . . People will be talking about this one. Remember, you heard it here first." --Elisabeth Egan, The New York Times Book Review “Can small-town romance compete with big-ticket success? The award-winning playwright and creator of NBC’s Smash examines how love fits into the fame game.”*** --Cosmopolitan “[This] unputdownable novel pairs the competing fates of two former lovers . . . both defined by their inability to forget the other.” --Vogue.com*** “Like Nick Hornby and David Nicholls, Rebeck possesses an effortless prose style that edifies as much as it entertains . . . Rebeck delivers some hilarious riffs on the venal nature of show business, even as she also imparts some hard truths on the need for compromise in relationships." --Booklist “Theresa Rebeck’s smart, funny, deeply sympathetic, and astringently observant novel gets everything right—what we say and don’t say, how we see ourselves and how we want to be seen, the dream and the realities of love, the rewards that are offered and the sacrifices required from anyone who wants to lead an interesting and meaningful life: in the theater, in the city, in the world.” --Francine Prose “Rebeck’s comedic and heartbreaking love story, I’m Glad About You, is anything but predictable. From Hollywood red carpets to Midwestern mansions, Rebeck takes us on a wild ride through the lives of two high-school sweethearts who just can’t seem to get it right . . . a refreshingly honest character study that explores how flawed people attempt to build a love that thrives in a messy, complicated world.” --BookPage “Rebeck’s sharply funny I’m Glad About You is a cautionary tale – choose your dreams with your eyes open.” --Vanity Fair “A rare honest story about love, ambition, and compromise. . . . The snappy dialogue and plot you'd expect from a veteran dramatist plus the rich exploration of character that novels are made for.” --Kirkus Reviews (starred) “Nobody writes more fiercely and honestly about show business than Theresa Rebeck. Allison, the heroine of this novel, discovers that answered prayers can be as frustrating as unanswered ones. Her journey made me laugh and cry.”--Erica Jong, New York Times bestselling author of *Fear of Flying “Rebeck gives us those ‘summer night’ feels . . . A story about a young couple who fall for each other in the most unpredictable way and somehow find their way back to one another again. Why you should read it: It’s a classic Danny meets Sandy story, with a modern spin.” --B*uzzfeed.com, “5 Must-Read Books If You Loved Grease: Live”* “With searing insights about the world of show business from industry insider Theresa Rebeck, this book is about relationships, and what we do in order to make our dreams come true.”—Popsugar “Rebeck . . . puts her showbiz expertise to good use, following a young actress in NYC. While Alison’s future looks bright, she can’t shake the memory of an old flame.” --US Weekly*** “A story about two high school kids, Alison and Kyle, who fall in love but go their separate ways, Alison to be an actress and Kyle to become a doctor. Find out what happens (that’s far from the end of the story) in this novel by Theresa Rebeck.” --Parade.com "At times funny, at others sad, we loved the tenderhearted characters and relatable storyline that almost begs you to take a second look at the choices of your past before landing on an ending that is heartbreaking in its honesty." --domino.com “This novel is wise. And funny. And brave. Rebeck skewers her targets with fierce wit and impeccable timing. But her dry-eyed empathy for those who follow brittle dreams is what resonates. Haunted by the ideals they've abandoned, her characters are dogged, often courageous, and thoroughly human.”--*Rachel Urquhart, author of The Visionist “[A] breezy, eye-opening behind-the-scenes expose of what it means to be a star in today's fast-paced, media-blitzing celebrity world. [Rebeck] entertainingly gets her message across that celebrity is not as fabulous as it looks and that people who follow their dreams need to stay true to themselves to find true happiness.” --Publishers Weekly** * About the Author In 2011 Theresa Rebeck was named one of the 150 Fearless Women in the World by Newsweek. She has had more than a dozen plays produced in New York, including Omnium Gatherum (cowriter), for which she was a Pulitzer Prize finalist, and The New York Times has referred to her as “one of her generation’s major talents.” She was the creator of the NBC drama Smash and has a long history of producing and writing for major television and film successes. She is the author of Three Girls and Their Brother (2008) and Twelve Rooms with a View (2010). She has taught at Brandeis University and Columbia University and lives in Brooklyn with her family.