Author Event: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by Jessica Guerrieri

Join us for a special event with Jessica Guerrieri, author of Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea. This event is free, but we appreciate your RSVP below so we can plan for your attendance.

Leah O'Connor is torn between her current existence and the allure of a phantom life that can no longer be hers. Swept off her feet by the gentle charm of Lucas O'Connor, Leah's unexpected pregnancy changes the course of her carefree and nomadic existence.

Over a decade and three children later, Leah is unraveling. She resents the world in which her artistic aspirations have been sidelined by the overwhelming demands of motherhood, and the ever-present rift between herself and her mother-in-law, Christine, is best dulled by increasingly fuller glasses of wine.

Christine represents a model of selfless motherhood that Leah can neither achieve nor accept. To heighten the strain, Lucas's business venture—a trendy restaurant that honors his mother—has taken all his attention, leaving the domestic demands squarely on Leah's shoulders. Seeking an ally in her sweet sister-in-law Amy, Leah shares a secret that, if revealed, could disrupt the fragile ecosystem that keeps the O'Connors connected.

As Leah dances with the devil while descending further into darkness, her drinking threatens the welfare of her family. When the inevitable waves come crashing down, it’s the O'Connor women who give Leah a lifeline: the truth of what they’ve all endured. But Leah alone must uncover the villain of her own story, learn how to ask for help, and decide if the family she has rejected will be her salvation—or her undoing.

"This powerful debut is sure to resonate with readers who like complex family stories." — Library Journal

"Debut author Guerrieri draws upon personal experience for this nuanced story of a woman in crisis. Leah's gradual slide into alcoholism is sensitively portrayed, and her path to sobriety, with its ups and downs, is authentic. Leah is not always a likable character, but as readers follow her story, they'll root for her recovery. Readers of Marian Keyes will be moved by this family drama." — Booklist

"A brave confrontation of the distance between who we were and who we are, explored with razor-sharp honesty. The relational complexities are written with breathtaking precision, and the intimate experience of Leah's journey into marriage and motherhood is book club gold. BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA is an urgent call to drop all pretense, stop numbing, and let the fullness of life come flooding in. The complicated but real loyalties within this family remind us that we are not alone." — Sarah Damoff, bestselling author of The Bright Years

Jessica Guerrieri is an award-winning novelist, essayist, and proud sober mother of three. She is the author of Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea (Harper Muse, 2025), winner of the 2023 Maurice Prize for Fiction, and Both Can Be True(Harper Muse, 2026), a work of literary book club fiction. Her essays have appeared in People, HuffPost, and Writer’s Digest, and she is a frequent voice in the sobriety and mental health communities. She lives in Davis, California, with her family and a small zoo of pets.

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