The Glow

A desperate young PR manager tries to save her career by turning the charismatic leader of a grungy retreat center into the hot new self-care brand in this rollicking debut novel. Jane Dorner, account manager at a flashy New York public relations firm, has two modes: PR Jane, twenty-five, chummy, and eager to sell you a feminist vibrator or a self-care-slash-bereavement subscription box; and Actual Jane, twenty-nine, drifting through mediocre workdays and lackluster dates while paralyzed by her crushing mountain of medical debt. When her job performance is called into question, Jane's last-ditch effort to keep her livelihood and pay off her debt is to land a white whale of a client. Enter the impossibly gorgeous Cass, whom Jane discovers scrolling through Instagram, and her unassuming husband, Tom, the proprietors of a "wellness retreat" based out of a ramshackle house in the New Jersey countryside that may or may not be giving off cult vibes. Suddenly, Jane realizes she might have found the one ladder she can climb--if she can convince them that transforming Cass herself into a high-end wellness brand is the key to all three of their futures. Magnetic yet mysterious, Cass is primed to be an influencer: she speaks exclusively in what sounds like a mix of inspirational quotes and Zen koans, only eats zucchini (the most spiritually nourishing vegetable), and has baby-perfect skin. Despite Tom's reticence about selling out, Jane sets about molding Cass into the kind of guru who can bring you inner peace and make your skin glow--all for a hefty price, of course. As she reckons with her own long-dormant ambitions and the trade-offs that come with power and influence, she wonders: Are helping people and making money mutually exclusive? And once you become a girlboss, can you ever go back? Sparklingly plotted, deliciously deadpan, and irresistibly entertaining, The Glow is a razor-sharp sendup of an industry built on the peculiar intersection of money and wellness, where health is a commodity and self-care a luxury.