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The Only Thing There Is to Want
Hardcover
$29.00
Published on Sep 29, 2026 | 320 Pages
The New York Times bestselling author of Blackout excavates the three romantic entanglements that defined her adulthood—an electrifying examination of the blurry line between affection and obsession revealing the restless wanting that hums in us all.
“Insightful, original, and hilarious . . . When it comes to memoir, [Hepola] is one of the best to ever do it.”—Christie Tate, New York Times bestselling author of Group
“I’m scared I only want what I can’t have,” I said.
“Oh baby,” he said. “It’s the only thing there is to want.”
Sarah Hepola wanted so much: a big career; travel and adventure; deep relationships; passion. Having realized so many of those desires, she also grieved the ways her life was not what she’d always imagined it would be. Did I make the wrong choices? she wondered. Love the wrong people? Is love even a choice?
In The Only Thing There Is To Want, she revisits three complicated love affairs from her past, seeking to understand how they might have kept her from the life she’d envisioned, but also made her who she is. Tracing her search for love, she uncovers the myths she once believed could make her whole.
This dazzling portrait of modern romance captures the paradox of desire: wanting propels us forward and holds us back. Funny, achingly tender, and fearlessly intimate, The Only Thing There Is to Want is about discovering the beauty in the life you’ve built.
“Insightful, original, and hilarious . . . When it comes to memoir, [Hepola] is one of the best to ever do it.”—Christie Tate, New York Times bestselling author of Group
“I’m scared I only want what I can’t have,” I said.
“Oh baby,” he said. “It’s the only thing there is to want.”
Sarah Hepola wanted so much: a big career; travel and adventure; deep relationships; passion. Having realized so many of those desires, she also grieved the ways her life was not what she’d always imagined it would be. Did I make the wrong choices? she wondered. Love the wrong people? Is love even a choice?
In The Only Thing There Is To Want, she revisits three complicated love affairs from her past, seeking to understand how they might have kept her from the life she’d envisioned, but also made her who she is. Tracing her search for love, she uncovers the myths she once believed could make her whole.
This dazzling portrait of modern romance captures the paradox of desire: wanting propels us forward and holds us back. Funny, achingly tender, and fearlessly intimate, The Only Thing There Is to Want is about discovering the beauty in the life you’ve built.
Author
Sarah Hepola
Sarah Hepola’s essays have appeared in the New York Times magazine, Texas Monthly, The Atlantic, The Cut, Elle, The Guardian, and Salon, where she was a longtime editor. Her first book, Blackout: Remembering the Things I Drank To Forget, was a New York Times bestseller. She’s the creator and host of the Texas Monthly narrative podcast America’s Girls, about the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, and the co-host of the weekly culture podcast, Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em. Hepola lives in Dallas, Texas where she is a staff writer for the Dallas Morning News.
Learn More about Sarah Hepola
