Ask Again Later: A Novel

From the author of the national bestseller Girls’ Poker Night comes the hilarious yet poignant story of a woman trying to resist the urge to live with one foot constantly out the door

Ask Again Later is a humorous and revealing novel about Emily, a lawyer by default in her 20s, living in New York City. We meet Emily after quits her job in order to help her mother, who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Emily soon finds that she’s not really cut out for nursing, and takes a responsibility-free job as a receptionist at a law firm headed by her father, with whom she hasn’t had a relationship in 20 years. Reappearing in their lives upon hearing of his ex-wife’s illness, her father quickly brings Emily back to a past she would rather forget, but whose challenges help her get closer to the future she has always wanted.

Jill Davis is at her most fresh and sharp, Ask Again Later reveals the laugh-out-loud pros and cons of finally going for the gusto, but finding out it isn’t exactly what you wanted.

Emily has a tendency to live with one foot out the door. For her, the best thing about a family crisis is the excuse to cut and run. When her mother dramatically announces they've found a lump, Emily gladly takes a rain check on life to be by her mother's side, leaving behind her career, her boyfriend, and those pesky, unanswerable questions about who she is and what she's doing with her life.

But back in her childhood bedroom, Emily realizes that she hasn't run fast or far enough. One evening, while her mother calls everyone in her Rolodex to brief them on her medical crisis and schedule a farewell martini, Emily opens the door, quite literally, to find her past staring her in the face. How do you forge a relationship with the father who left when you were five years old? As Emily attempts to find balance on the emotional seesaw of her life, with the help of two hopeful suitors and her Park Avenue Princess sister, she takes a no-risk job as a receptionist at her father's law firm and slowly gets to know the man she once pretended was dead.

From the brainy, breezy writer who "writes like a professional comic" (The Onion) and is "hard to stop reading once you start" (USA Today) comes a laugh-out-loud tale that confirms you can recover from your parents, the bad habit of missed opportunities, and men who romance you with meat. When opportunity knocks, it's time to stop running and start living.

“Blithe, engaging, off-the-wall funny.” - Joan Didion

“Funny, sad, and full of perfect little truths.” - Laura Zigman

“Davis’s book leavens regret and tragedy with a light-handed wit.” - Publishers Weekly

“[A] frank, funny journey…a brisk novel about reconnecting with parents…” - Play Magazine (Philadelphia)

“[The] dialogue...crackles with electricity between highly charged characters and is often as funny for what’s left unsaid… - Los Angeles Times

“[ASK AGAIN LATER] is both very funny and deeply moving.” - Booklist

“...the humor is deftly interwoven with genuinely affecting moments that lend unexpected depth.” - Elle.com

“Davis makes the narrative work with effortless light humor and genuine thoughtfulness…Well-drawn characters with emotional integrity…” - Kirkus Reviews

“Great book! Hysterical!” - The Today Show

“Davis tackles real-life issues and infuses these rather somber moments with requisite levity and humor.” - Bookreporter.com

“This is one of the best books I have read so far this year.” - BlogCritics Magazine

“... smart-gal spin on the chick-lit formula… the writing and the characters lend the book an emotional heft.” - Time Out New York

“Comedy and drama is perfectly balanced in Jill A. Davis’ new novel, Ask Again Later…” - Connecticut Post

“Davis, the author of ‘Girls’ Poker Night’ and formerly a writer for ‘Late Show With David Letterman,’ studs her story with welcome one-liners.” - New York Daily News

“There are laughs, there are tears. Nice job.” - Sacramento Bee

“ASK AGAIN LATER is an engaging slice of life.” - Emily Griffin, bestselling author of BABY PROOF

“Jill Davis is extremely personable, courteous, and punctual.” - Dave Letterman, host of "Late Show with David Letterman"

“Hilarious, heartfelt...Davis’s witty voice is pitch-perfect. A-” - Entertainment Weekly

“...an intriguing read.” - Romantic Times

“A snappy and sardonic take on learning to love your (dysfunctional) family.” - Lucinda Rosenfeld, author of WHAT SHE SAW... and WHY SHE WENT HOME

“ASK AGAIN LATER...rewards at every level.” - Richard Russo

“...you’ll... veer between uncontrollable laughing fits and being stunned and misty-eyed by its poignant turns.” - Jancee Dunn, author of But Enough About Me: A Jersey Girl's Unlikely Adventures Among the Absurdly Famous