Amicable
She swore her divorce would be different, but when things turn ugly, Lea must lean into the fight, in this propulsive novel from a New York Times editor.
On Sale March 9, 2027
About the Book
Amicable
Lea’s always believed that how you end a marriage says as much about you as how you begin one. So when she decides to leave her husband, Veer—the father of her two children and the man whose crypto fortune she helped build—she commits to doing it right. Civilly. Maturely. Without repeating her parents’ mistakes.
But Veer sees things differently. Convinced that Lea was unfaithful and therefore deserves nothing, he casts himself as the victim. As legal bills skyrocket and the group chat with her friends goes strangely silent, Lea finds herself trapped in the very storm she spent her childhood running from: someone else’s anger. The “good divorce” she had hoped for quickly dissolves, and she’s left asking, Was this her destiny? Or worse, her fault?
Perfect for readers of Belle Burden’s Strangers, Amicable is a piercing, tender novel about the myths we tell ourselves when love ends: that we can control the narrative, that our friends will show up, that we can outrun our pasts. With wry wit and deep humanity, debut novelist Hanna Ingber reveals the quiet truth that we’re all fumbling through the dark, and even those who hurt us deserve some grace.
Praise
Zibby’s 2027 Most Anticipated List
“…this story’s emotional specificity and year-in-the-life structure immerse the reader in Lea’s struggles—and, ultimately, her triumphs—in a memorable way that distinguishes Ingber’s novel from the pack. This incisive divorce story is the perfect marriage of honesty and heart.” — Kirkus
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Photo Credit: Allyson Murphy
About Hanna.
Hanna Ingber is a longtime editor at The New York Times, currently leading its new Local initiative. She also runs events and communities for people navigating divorce. Contact her to get involved. Hanna has lived in and reported from India, Myanmar, and Thailand. She now lives in South Orange, N.J., with her partner and their combined four kids, two cats, and a dog.
Praise for Hanna’s Writings and Events
“I started following you after your divorce was my superpower essay in the NYT. It was one of the early seeds planted that yes I could leave a toxic marriage. And to see your transformation and joy has been such a source of hope.”
—from a mother of two in Brooklyn
“I am in a very raw and scary moment and just reading your words gave me so much strength and a sense of reassurance that somehow things will be okay. ”
—from a rabbi and mother of three in NY
“It helped me change the way that I see myself and my divorce from one of personal failure to that of a shared struggle that so many others are going through.”
—a family doctor in NJ
“Excellent experience emotionally and intellectually. What a great and interesting group of women! I feel so thankful to have other women in which to experience divorce.”
—Tara Charvat, a marketing executive in Berkeley Heights, N.J.
Essays & Articles.
Essays
Hanna has written essays and reported articles for a wide range of publications over the past two decades. A number of her pieces for The New York Times have reached its most popular list.
Here is a selection of her work.
Two Cakes, One FOMO and a Lot of Zoloft
Substack, April 24, 2026
The Digital Fragments We Leave Behind
The New York Times, May 3, 2023
My Ex and I Fought About Everything. Then Came the Coronavirus.
The New York Times, March 20, 2020
How to Make Kids Feel at Home in Both Homes After a Divorce
The New York Times, April 1, 2022
My Jewish Sons Have a Christmas Tree, and I Need to Deal
The New York Times, Dec. 24, 2019
Holidays Are Tough After a Divorce. Here’s How I Learned to Prepare.
The New York Times, Sept. 7, 2021
I Won’t Let Divorce Kill My Shabbat
Forward, Sept. 13, 2021, subscription may be required
Six Months Pregnant and Asking, ‘Am I Depressed?’
The New York Times, March 31, 2016
Hartford Courant, Nov. 16, 2003
Hartford Courant, May 25, 2003
Photo Credit: Kristine Foley
Articles
Hanna has reported from Myanmar, Nepal, Ethiopia, India, Malaysia, South Africa, Thailand and the United States.
Here is a selection of that work.
Child Marriages Burden Young Nepalis
GlobalPost, Oct. 30, 2011
PRI’s The World, Sept. 8, 2011
How Bohra Muslims Set Themselves Apart
GlobalPost, April 24, 2011
Lessons From India’s Largest Slum
GlobalPost, May 17, 2011
The HuffPost, Nov. 29, 2009
LA Weekly, May 20, 2009
Editorial Projects.
As an editor at The Times, Hanna has led initiatives that explore using social media, comments, text messaging, live reporting, newsletters and other vehicles to tell stories in new ways and connect with readers.
Here are some projects that she spearheaded. Note: These links may require a Times subscription.
Shira Ovide, The New York Times, April 2020 – Sept. 2022
The New York Times Reader Center
A newsroom initiative that experimented with ways to build deeper ties and trust with The Times’s audience,
May 2017 — January 2020
Why We Collected ISIS’ Internal Documents, and What Happens Next
Rukmini Callimachi and Michael Slackman, The New York Times, May 31, 2018
‘You Know, I Never Told You This’
Josephine Sedgwick and Nancy Wartik, The New York Times, Dec. 9, 2017
Part of package that won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize in Public Service
‘I Live in a Lie’: Saudi Women Speak Up
Mona El-Naggar, The New York Times, Oct. 28, 2016
Moving to Venezuela, a Land in Turmoil
Nicholas Casey, The New York Times, January — February 2016
Traveling in Europe’s River of Migrants
Anemona Hartocollis, The New York Times, August — September 2015
Photo Credit: Kristine Foley
Contact.
Send Hanna a note.