One of Real Simple’s Best Books of 2019

“I loved this book. . . .Funny, heartbreaking and clever with a mystery at its heart.” —Jojo Moyes

“With an eye as keen for human idiosyncrasies as Miranda July’s, and a sense of humor as bright and surprising as Maria Semple’s, this is a novel of pure velocity.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

?The adult debut from bestselling, award-winning young adult author Jaclyn Moriarty—a frequently hilarious, brilliantly observed novel—that follows a single mother’s heartfelt search for greater truths about the universe, her family and herself.

Twenty years ago, Abigail Sorenson’s brother Robert went missing one day before her sixteenth birthday, never to be seen again. That same year, she began receiving scattered chapters in the mail of a self-help manual, the Guidebook, whose anonymous author promised to make her life soar to heights beyond her wildest dreams.

The Guidebook’s missives have remained a constant in Abi’s life—a befuddling yet oddly comforting voice through her family’s grief over her brother’s disappearance, a move across continents, the devastating dissolution of her marriage, and the new beginning as a single mother and café owner in Sydney.

Now, two decades after receiving those first pages, Abi is invited to an all-expenses paid weekend retreat to learn “the truth” about the Guidebook. It’s an opportunity too intriguing to refuse. If Everything is Connected, then surely the twin mysteries of the Guidebook and a missing brother must be linked?

What follows is completely the opposite of what Abi expected––but it will lead her on a journey of discovery that will change her life––and enchant readers. Gravity Is the Thing is a smart, unusual, wickedly funny novel about the search for happiness that will break your heart into a million pieces and put it back together, bigger and better than before.

A frequently hilarious, brilliantly observed novel that follows a single mother’s heartfelt search for greater truths about the universe, her family, and herself

Twenty years ago, Abigail Sorenson’s brother, Robert, went missing one day before her sixteenth birthday. That same year, she began receiving scattered chapters of a self-help manual in the mail, The Guidebook, whose mysterious authors promised to make her life soar to heights beyond her wildest dreams.

The Guidebook’s missives have remained a constant in Abi’s life—a befuddling yet oddly comforting voice through her family’s grief over her brother’s disappearance, a move across continents, the devastating dissolution of her marriage, and her new beginning as a single mother and café owner in Sydney.

Now, two decades after receiving those first pages, Abi is invited to an all-expenses-paid weekend retreat to learn “the truth” about The Guidebook. It’s an opportunity too intriguing to refuse. If Everything Is Connected, then surely the twin mysteries of The Guidebook and her missing brother must be linked.

What follows is the complete opposite of what Abi expected––but it will lead her on a journey of discovery that will bring a disparate cast of characters into her life and change it forever. Gravity Is the Thing is a smart, unusual, wickedly funny novel about the search for happiness that will break your heart into a million pieces and put it back together, bigger and better than before.

“I am in love with this hilarious and tender story about characters who enchanted and surprised me up to the last page. GRAVITY IS THE THING will lift you up and leave you wondering if the most impossible ideas are actually the heart of everything.”