In Some Other World, Maybe: A Novel (41 page)

also by shari goldhagen

FAMILY AND OTHER ACCIDENTS

more praise for

IN SOME OTHER WORLD, MAYBE

“Shari Goldhagen writes with a special, effortless kind of magic—her characters (even when they’re movie stars) feel real: maddening and beguiling, funny and heartbreaking. This novel is a story about coincidence and connection, about lives spinning in and out of control over decades and across the globe, but it’s also about people who seem like friends, people we desperately want—no matter how badly they screw up—to turn out all right.”

—Christopher Coake, author of
You Came Back
and
We’re in Trouble

“This is a wonderfully rich story of what might be and what might have been. Goldhagen writes with authority about show business and popular culture as she tells this ageless and all-too-human tale of the mistakes and the compromises that we all make for the sake of love. This book will entertain you, perhaps even titillate you, but above all it will touch your heart.”

—Lee Martin, author of
The Bright Forever
and
Break the Skin

“
In Some Other World, Maybe
is a sprawling novel about growing up and setting off on your own, about going to Hollywood but remembering your beginnings. Goldhagen has given us memorable and appealing characters, and their stories all moved me. By the last page, I felt like we had become friends. I already miss them.”

—Christine Sneed, author of
Little Known Facts

“
In Some Other World, Maybe
is nothing less than an exploration of our hearts, the surprising places they lead us, the ways they break, and the infinite ways they can heal. And it is an absolute delight of a novel, spilling over with questions of fate and choice and characters so richly drawn and sympathetic that the loves and struggles of an interconnected group of men and women felt as real and as essential to me as my own. I read this book practically nonstop for four days straight.
In Some Other World, Maybe
hijacked my life and vaulted me completely into Shari Goldhagen’s world.”

—Lauren Fox, author of
Still Life with Husband
and
Friends Like Us

“Ms. Goldhagen already, at a young age, is a fully self-possessed novelist, in command of large figurations, shrewd intelligence and wit, and a fine eye for the world and the American sentence.”

—Richard Ford

“
In Some Other World, Maybe
is a beautiful, haunting, insightful novel woven masterfully together. Goldhagen writes about the struggles of growing up, of relationships, of fame, celebrity, and the merging of the inner and outer worlds in a narrative so bullet-train fast, it’s nearly impossible to put down. And her characters are real and complex and subtly defined.
In Some Other World, Maybe
is funny as hell—and deeply profound.”

—Nic Sheff,
New York Times
bestselling author of
Tweak
and
We All Fall Down

“
In Some Other World, Maybe
beguiled me so much during recent flights that I forgot I was in the air! Engaging, entertaining, saucy, and poignant, this ingenious six-degrees-of-separation novel is one you’ll be so happy you read. So much fun.”

—Jenna Blum,
New York Times
bestselling author of
Those Who Save Us
and
The Stormchasers

“Shari Goldhagen brilliantly weaves together the lives of her characters into a tapestry that feels expertly crafted and, at the same time, satisfyingly human and real. This is a gem of a book, the kind that I will savor long after reading.”

—Cristina Alger, author of
The Darlings

“Shari Goldhagen is one of those remarkable writers whose work simultaneously captivates the mind and captures the heart, and it’s hard to know what to admire more in this beautifully written novel: the craftsmanship of the story—intricate and deliberate and finely formed as a well-made watch—or the messy, yearning, and wholly compelling characters who inhabit it. This is a book filled with people so flawed and funny and heartachingly familiar that, upon finishing, I felt that I was parting ways with a group of close and precious friends—I loved this novel.”

—Aryn Kyle, international bestselling author of
The God of Animals

“
In Some Other World, Maybe
makes the glamorous seem strikingly familiar and the mundane sparkle with new possibility. Goldhagen spins a lyrical saga that finds an unusual balance between hip and wise, with unforgettable and utterly human characters at its heart. I will not soon shake this book.”

—Jillian Lauren,
New York Times
bestselling
author of
Some Girls
and
Pretty

“
In Some Other World, Maybe
is funny and deft and moving and sweet, at least till it’s harrowing and disturbing and plain dangerous. It’s tender then explosive, sexy then raw, a dozen points of view coming together to tell a story no one character alone could possibly have a handle on. Shari Goldhagen is a writer of force and intelligence, humor and warmth, heart and heartbreak, darkness and light, and this novel has it all.”

—Bill Roorbach, author of
Life Among Giants

praise for

FAMILY AND OTHER ACCIDENTS

“Real life with snappier dialogue … reminds you that simply paying attention is one of the things literature can do best.”

—
The New York Times Book Review

“Engrossing, beautifully written.”

—
People

“A lithe, living text … Goldhagen has charted a compelling, believable course of true brotherly love.”

—
San Francisco Chronicle

“Delicately mines the complexities of how loved ones seem close and far away—often at the same time—and how the smallest word uttered has the power to unravel or save.”

—
Entertainment Weekly

“Immensely assured.”

—
Booklist

“Unsentimental and emotionally riveting.”

—
Publishers Weekly

about the author

After serious pursuits of literature at Northwestern (B.S.J.) and Ohio State (M.F.A.), Shari Goldhagen discovered she had a knack for sifting through celebrity trash and worked as a gossip writer for several publications, including
The National Enquirer, Us Weekly,
and
Life & Style Weekly
. Her articles on pop culture, travel, and relationships have appeared everywhere from
Cosmopolitan
to
Penthouse,
and she has received fellowships from Yaddo and MacDowell. Shari currently lives in New York City with her husband and daughter.
In Some Other World, Maybe
is her second novel.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

IN SOME OTHER WORLD, MAYBE.
Copyright © 2014 by Shari Goldhagen. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

www.stmartins.com

“History of Flight” originally appeared in
Prism International
, Volume 41, Fall 2002.

Cover design by Kerri Resnick

Cover lettering © Angie Makes/
Shutterstock.com
; watercolor border © Alexander Tihonov/
Shutterstock.com
; silhouettes: bottom left © grynold/
Shutterstock.com
, top and middle right © Leremy/
Shutterstock.com
, top left © leigh/
Shutterstock.com

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The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:

Goldhagen, Shari, 1976–

      In some other world, maybe: a novel / Shari Goldhagen.—First edition.

         p. cm.

      ISBN 978-1-250-04799-1 (hardcover)

      ISBN 978-1-4668-4829-0 (e-book)

      I. Title.

   PS3607.O45415 2015

   813'.6—dc23

2014032132

e-ISBN 9781466848290

First Edition: January 2015