Beyond the Book: Laura Dave's 'The First Time I Saw Him'

With The First Time I Saw Him (Scribner, Jan. 2026) publishing in January 2026, PW talked to bestselling author Laura Dave about following up a major bestseller, seeing her story get the Hollywood treatment, and why strong heroines are the foundations of her fiction.

Let’s start with the phenomenal success of The Last Thing He Told Me—over 5 million copies sold globally, a Reese’s Book Club pick, and an Apple TV series starring Jennifer Garner. Did you ever imagine the story would resonate this deeply—and widely—when you first wrote it?

Well, first of all, thank you. And, to answer your question: no, I didn’t imagine the novel would receive such a wonderful reception. I really wasn’t imagining its reception. I wasn't thinking about the reception when I was working on the book - I only knew it was a story I couldn't let go. I only knew it was a story that I couldn’t let go. I started thinking about the story, in the early 2000s, when I became intrigued by the financial scandal at Enron. I remember watching Linda Lay [wife of Enron’s CEO, Kenneth Lay] give an interview proclaiming that her husband did nothing wrong. I started to imagine, then, the story of a woman who felt certain of her husband’s innocence despite mounting evidence to the contrary. I didn’t put pen to paper for The Last Thing He Told Me, though, until almost a decade later. And I didn’t find where the story needed to go until I had my child in 2016 and realized this was the primal story of someone becoming a mother.

All of which is to say: I’ve held these characters near and dear to my heart for a long time and I am thrilled and honored that so many readers have come to feel that way about them as well.

The First Time I Saw Him picks up exactly where The Last Thing He Told Me left off. Since you didn’t originally plan a sequel, what sparked your decision to return to these characters and their story now?

When readers started reaching out to me about The Last Thing He Told Me, so many of them would ask: what happens next? Much to my surprise, I had a fully formed answer. So I sat down and wrote a hundred pages of the sequel, sharing them with no one until I was certain that I knew where I wanted the story to go. In that period of quietly writing, I realized how natural it was to continue Hannah Hall’s journey—and to help her find the way to a much deserved second chance.

How did it feel to re-enter this world—and did the characters surprise you this time around?

What surprised me most, as I dug deeper into the writing, was that the sequel was also a prequel. I found myself moving forty-three years into the past. It was exciting for me to lean into the origin story—and how the impact of those events impacted Hannah’s journey in unexpected and heartbreaking ways.

Your novels are known for both emotional depth and high-stakes suspense. How did you approach maintaining the pulse-pounding intensity in this sequel while still delivering the emotional payoff your fans crave?

For me, it always starts with character. In Hannah Hall, I have a brave heroine—so the decisions she makes naturally lend themselves to high stakes. I also think because the sequel picks up right after The Last Thing He Told Me ends, Hannah is thrust back into an incredibly intense set of circumstances—in which, as is her way, she will do whatever needs to be done to protect her family.

The First Time I Saw Him is already generating buzz across bookselling channels—from indie bookstores to libraries to mass retailers. What does it mean to you that your books connect across such a wide and diverse reading community?

That is so wonderful to hear. I wanted to deliver a sequel that provided that sense of connection for readers: thrills and heartbreak and an ending that makes them feel satisfied in every way. Every time someone reaches out to say that the sequel has done that for them, it means the world to me.

The Last Thing He Told Me marked an explosion in your readership, but you were steadily building a loyal audience long before that. How has your journey as a writer changed since that breakout moment?

When I was working on my first novel in my early twenties, I went to a reading and heard a novelist say that if five readers were moved by her book, then that novel was worth writing. That really penetrated for me. And it became the ideal that I strived for: if my novel provided five readers with that feeling that you get at the end of a really great book (that you’ve found joy there, or a needed escape, or catharsis, or love, or relief), I could feel great about how I did my job.

Eight books later, that ideal remains the same, which I guess is a long way of saying, not much has changed. l treasure that I get to write books, and hear from readers, and be in an ongoing conversation with booksellers and librarians and bookstagrammers. I’m so grateful for all of it.

Your previous novel, The Night We Lost Him, was a #1 Indie Next Pick and a favorite in the indie community. What has your relationship been like with independent booksellers, and how do they shape your publishing journey?

Since I was really young child, I’ve wanted to be a writer. On Sundays, my parents would take me to our local bookstore and library—and I’d get to pick out new books for the week. By third grade I was trying to write ‘a novel’ myself. When I was a teenager, I walked into an indie bookstore a few towns away and a bookseller recommended the novel Starcarbon by Ellen Gilchrist. I started reading it on the floor of that store and remember hoping that one day someone would sit on the floor of a bookstore and pick up something I’d written.

Now, I go to my local bookstore every Saturday with my son, and we buy our books. And, often, I get to see these wonderful booksellers hand-selling my novels.

What can I say about how booksellers have shaped my publishing journey? They’ve been a part of all of it, since the beginning.

Season 2 of the Apple TV+ adaptation of The Last Thing He Told Me is on the horizon. Have you been involved in shaping the continuation of the story onscreen? If so, how does it compare to writing a literary sequel?

I sat down with the showrunners and walked them through what I was doing with the sequel and that provided the blueprint for the second season. I can’t provide any spoilers, but I will say that while some of the twists and turns are different in the show, Hannah’s overarching journey in both the novel and the show is rooted in forgiveness, redemption and salvation. The sequel (and the show) lean into the same central question: what are you willing to do for a second chance?

You’re known for using music as a creative anchor while writing. What song was on repeat while you were working on The First Time I Saw Him, and how does it tie into the story or mood of the novel?

For The Last Thing He Told Me, that song was “If I Should Fall Behind” By Bruce Springsteen. For the sequel it was “cardigan” by Taylor Swift. I love each of those songs so much. And, I like thinking about the way they speak to each other—"If I Should Fall Behind” leans into the promises we make at the beginning of a relationship, “cardigan” asks what happens when some of those promises break: How do we come back to each other on the other side of loss and heartbreak and hope?

In many ways, this is how The Last Thing He Told Me and The First Time I Saw Him speak to each other, as well.

Ultimately, what do you hope readers walk away with after finishing The First Time I Saw Him—especially those who have been with Hannah and Bailey since the very beginning?

Sequels, I believe, have a responsibility to answer questions readers may not have even known they needed answered. I hope that happens here. I hope readers love how Hannah and Bailey’s story is resolved. And I hope that, like with the first book, the last page makes readers want to reach out and tell me everything they think. That’s the part I love most.