Honestly, We Meant Well: A Novel

A classics professor hopes a Greek vacation will repair her crumbling family in this “hilarious and pitch-perfect” novel (Southern Living).

The Wright family is in ruins. Sue Ellen Wright has what she thinks is a close-to-perfect life. A terrific career as a classics professor, a loving husband, and a son who is just about to safely leave the nest.

But then disaster strikes. She learns that her husband is cheating, and that her son has made a complete mess of his life. So, when the opportunity to take her family to a Greek island for a month presents itself, she jumps at the chance. Perhaps this sunlit Aegean paradise, with its mountains and beaches, will provide the key to her and her family’s salvation. With biting wit, deep emotion, and brilliant characters, Ginder’s Honestly, We Meant Well is a poignant story of a mother who won’t let her family story be a tragedy.

An Entertainment Weekly Must Read

Best Book of the Summer: The New York Post—Newsweek—Bloomberg Business Week—Southern Living—Pop Sugar—Parade—The Betches

Praise for Honestly, We Meant Well

“This rollicking book has it all: sex, lies, and scenery. Grant Ginder weaves a wonderful, engrossing multi-generational family story, with the Greek isles as a backdrop so beautiful that the reader will want to dive in.” —Emma Straub, New York Times–bestselling author of The Vacationers and Modern Lovers

“Ginder’s writing is funny and evocative; it skillfully touches on the passage of time in a family and in a marriage while effortlessly shifting points of view. Fans of clever, wistful stories will find much to love, and also appreciate the bonus classics tidbits.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A hilarious and often moving offering from the author of The People We Hate at the Wedding.” —The New York Post

© 2024 Flatiron Books (Ebook): 9781250143143

Release date

Ebook: May 1, 2024