JESSICA HARMON HAS STEPPED AWAY
BY REYNA MARDER GENTIN ‧ RELEASE DATE: NOV. 18, 2025
A rich, engrossing portrait of a mother and daughter fencing their way toward a truce. A woman’s life collapses after she reconnects with her brilliant but cold mother in Gentin’s knotty novel of broken families. Jessica Harmon, an unhappy 30-year-old book editor in New York City, breaks out of her rut in the worst possible way by quitting her job and breaking up with her perfect boyfriend when his marriage proposal triggers her fear of commitment. Seeking the roots of her dysfunction, she accompanies her poetry professor mother, Cynthia, on a nationwide tour after she wins a coveted prize for her new collection of verse. Cynthia is a great poet who wows fans with her readings, but her daughter knows her as “the most self-obsessed person ever to walk the halls of academia or the streets of the Upper West Side.”
“The only thing better than a road trip novel is a literary, mother-daughter road trip with a side of romance. I loved this story of an aspiring writer and her larger-than-life poet mother, their toxic relationship and the unexpected journey that changes everything forboth of them.”
— Annabel Monaghan, bestselling author ofIt’s A Love Stroy and Summer Romance
“A stunning story brimming with emotional insight and razor-sharp prose. Jessica Harmon Has Stepped Away is an unforgettable exploration of the complicated love between mothers and daughters, the stories we inherit, and the ones we must rewrite to save ourselves. With pitch-perfect wit and aching vulnerability, this novel delivers a poignant, empowering portrait of a woman finally stepping out of the shadows and into her own voice.”
— Jacqueline Friedland, USA Today bestselling author of Counting Backwards
“In her latest, Jessica Harmon Has Stepped Away, Gentin explores the complicated intersection of family secrets across the past and present, and the ways in which mothers and daughters might deceive one another–and themselves. Told with heart, wit, nuance and humor, this one will have you rooting for Jessica as she steps away, seeking bravely to find the truth, and the strength she’ll need in order to face it.”
— Allison Pataki, NY Times best selling author of Finding Margaret Fuller
“Jessica Harmon Has Stepped Away is an honest and absorbing exploration of mothers and daughters. When famed poet Cynthia Harmon wins a prestigious honor, she invites her estranged daughter on the literary tour. Jessica, who can’t fully commit to work or relationships, drops everything to join, believing she’ll finally have the chance to understand herself and this fractured relationship. Spanning elite literary circles, long-held secrets, and eventual tragedy, Gentin brilliantly captures the pain and longing of familial abandonment, the path to acceptance, and the people we should know best, but never fully do. Poignant and unputdownable.”
— Rochelle B. Weinstein, bestselling author of This is Not How it Ends
“Don’t call Jessica Harmon a nepo baby; if anything has held her back from achieving her dream of becoming a writer, it’s her mother, renowned poet and legendary narcissist Cynthia Harmon. But when Jessica unexpectedly finds herself accompanying her prickly mother on a book tour, she’s forced to confront a new side of her mother and of herself. Jessica Harmon Steps Away is a smart, compelling, genre-blend – a mother-daughter road trip, a coming-of-age story, and a literary satire. Kudos to Reyna Marder Gentin!”
— Karen Dukess, author of The Last Book Party and Welcome to Murder Week
“Jessica Harmon Has Stepped Away is the story of Jessica, a woman in her thirties who hopes to become a writer, and Cynthia, her narcissistic mother, a lauded poet. The book is steeped in lifelong secrets, ultimately asking the reader ‘How well can a child ever know a parent?’ Reyna Marder Gentin has written a compelling story that will leave you thinking—and feeling.”
— Marilyn Simon Rothstein, author of Who Loves You Best
KIRKUS
JESSICA HARMON HAS STEPPED AWAY
BY REYNA MARDER GENTIN ‧ RELEASE DATE: NOV. 18, 2025
A rich, engrossing portrait of a mother and daughter fencing their way toward a truce. A woman’s life collapses after she reconnects with her brilliant but cold mother in Gentin’s knotty novel of broken families. Jessica Harmon, an unhappy 30-year-old book editor in New York City, breaks out of her rut in the worst possible way by quitting her job and breaking up with her perfect boyfriend when his marriage proposal triggers her fear of commitment. Seeking the roots of her dysfunction, she accompanies her poetry professor mother, Cynthia, on a nationwide tour after she wins a coveted prize for her new collection of verse. Cynthia is a great poet who wows fans with her readings, but her daughter knows her as “the most self-obsessed person ever to walk the halls of academia or the streets of the Upper West Side.”
“The only thing better than a road trip novel is a literary, mother-daughter road trip with a side of romance. I loved this story of an aspiring writer and her larger-than-life poet mother, their toxic relationship and the unexpected journey that changes everything forboth of them.”
Annabel Monaghan, bestselling author ofIt’s A Love Stroy and Summer Romance
“A stunning story brimming with emotional insight and razor-sharp prose. Jessica Harmon Has Stepped Away is an unforgettable exploration of the complicated love between mothers and daughters, the stories we inherit, and the ones we must rewrite to save ourselves. With pitch-perfect wit and aching vulnerability, this novel delivers a poignant, empowering portrait of a woman finally stepping out of the shadows and into her own voice.”
Jacqueline Friedland, USA Today bestselling author of Counting Backwards
“In her latest, Jessica Harmon Has Stepped Away, Gentin explores the complicated intersection of family secrets across the past and present, and the ways in which mothers and daughters might deceive one another–and themselves. Told with heart, wit, nuance and humor, this one will have you rooting for Jessica as she steps away, seeking bravely to find the truth, and the strength she’ll need in order to face it.”
Allison Pataki, NY Times best selling author of Finding Margaret Fuller
“Jessica Harmon Has Stepped Away is an honest and absorbing exploration of mothers and daughters. When famed poet Cynthia Harmon wins a prestigious honor, she invites her estranged daughter on the literary tour. Jessica, who can’t fully commit to work or relationships, drops everything to join, believing she’ll finally have the chance to understand herself and this fractured relationship. Spanning elite literary circles, long-held secrets, and eventual tragedy, Gentin brilliantly captures the pain and longing of familial abandonment, the path to acceptance, and the people we should know best, but never fully do. Poignant and unputdownable.”
Rochelle B. Weinstein, bestselling author of This is Not How it Ends
“Don’t call Jessica Harmon a nepo baby; if anything has held her back from achieving her dream of becoming a writer, it’s her mother, renowned poet and legendary narcissist Cynthia Harmon. But when Jessica unexpectedly finds herself accompanying her prickly mother on a book tour, she’s forced to confront a new side of her mother and of herself. Jessica Harmon Steps Away is a smart, compelling, genre-blend – a mother-daughter road trip, a coming-of-age
story, and a literary satire. Kudos to
Reyna Marder Gentin!”
Karen Dukess, author of The Last Book Party and Welcome to Murder Week
“Jessica Harmon Has Stepped Away is the story of Jessica, a woman in her thirties who hopes to become a writer, and Cynthia, her narcissistic mother, a lauded poet. The book is steeped in lifelong secrets, ultimately asking the reader ‘How well can a child ever know a parent?’ Reyna Marder Gentin has written a compelling story that will leave you thinking—and feeling.”
Marilyn Simon Rothstein, author of Who Loves You Best
Listen To Reyna Online
On the Air with Florenza
Christine Walker and Reyna Marder Gentin
on A Novel Idea
Hasty Book List with Reyna
Listen To Reyna Online
On the Air with Florenza
Christine Walker and Reyna Marder Gentin
on A Novel Idea
Hasty Book List with Reyna
Book Clubs & Events
Interested in having Reyna speak at your next event? Please fill out the form to the right. Include two or three possible dates, and preferred time (include time zone). You can also reach Reyna at reyna@reynamardergentin.com.
Publicist: Caitlin Hamilton Marketing & Publicity, LLC
caitlin@caitlinhamiltonmarketing.com. Phone: 303-725-2613
If you would like to review the book discussion guides, click on book cover below.
Thank you.
. 
. 
. 
Book Clubs & Events
Interested in having Reyna speak at your next event? Please fill out the form to the right. Include two or three possible dates, and preferred time (include time zone). You can also reach Reyna at reyna@reynamardergentin.com.
Publicist: Caitlin Hamilton Marketing & Publicity, LLC
caitlin@caitlinhamiltonmarketing.com. Phone: 303-725-2613
If you would like to review the book discussion guides, click on book cover below.
Thank you.
To contact Reyna and to join her mailing list, click here.
Copyright © reynamardergentin.com 2025 Follow Reyna:
Copyright © reynamardergentin.com 2025 Follow Reyna: