The She Reads audience have been big Rebecca Serle fans for a long time. From In Five Years to One Italian Summer, we’ve been following her magical bestsellers to their beautiful, heart-warming ends. And now, we can jump for joy as her latest novel, Once and Again, hits shelves. We had the opportunity to sit down with Rebecca and discuss her new book and all the novels she has heading for the screen in this She Reads exclusive interview.
She Reads: First off, can you tell us about Once and Again and what sparked the idea for this novel?
Rebecca Serle: Once and Again is about three generations of women—an adult daughter, mother, and grandmother—who are all born with a magical gift. They each receive a silver ticket that allows them to go back in time and undo one thing from their past. They can relive something, start again—but only once. It’s really the story of these three women, the three ways they use their ticket, and what that ticket means to them. For some, it’s a promise of salvation. For others, it feels like a noose. And for someone else, it represents something entirely different.
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The idea came to me when I was newly engaged to my now-husband and thinking about marriage and family. I finished writing it over the course of us getting married and trying to start a family. We went on a fertility journey—different from the one in the book—but that experience definitely informed it.
I think all of my books up until Once and Again have really been about the questions: What’s going to happen? How is my life going to turn out? Who do I end up with? How does this story end? Will I have a family? And Once and Again is the first book that sits with the answers. It asks: What happens when some of those questions have already been answered? What happens when we’re already partnered? When the things we want for our life are challenging to find or achieve? And is a redo the answer to that?
She Reads: What drew you to the idea of just one chance? Time travel novels often allow for endless loops and multiple do-overs. Why one opportunity?
Rebecca Serle: Well, if you’re familiar with my work, my books are not very long. So practically speaking, that would involve a lot more words than I’m capable of writing if they could go back multiple times. Once worked for me.
But beyond that, there’s something definitive about it being finite. If you can go back and undo things many times, that’s a fundamentally different question than having one singular moment. My books often explore the dialogue between fate and free will—how much is in our control, and how much will happen regardless of the choices we make.
I’m more interested in those tentpole moments in life—the forks in the road that really do send us in opposing directions. There’s the butterfly effect theory, where every tiny choice alters the future. That’s one way to look at it. But I’m more compelled by the idea that there are key moments that unlock everything. What if you could return to just one of those?
She Reads: The novel explores complex mother-daughter relationships across three generations. How was this different from One Italian Summer?
Rebecca Serle: One Italian Summer was about recognizing that our parents are human. Katie idolizes her mother and believes she has all the answers, and her journey is realizing that her mom is doing the best she can. She’s not a god—she’s human.
Once and Again approaches that from a different angle. Lauren has a complicated relationship with her mother, Marcella, and Marcella has her own complicated relationship with her mother, Sylvia. There’s resentment. There are wounds. I’d say One Italian Summer is about clarity, while Once and Again is about softening. It’s about forgiveness. It’s about understanding that our mothers are human, and sometimes the mistakes they make require compassion because they were doing the best they could.
It’s also a book about fathers and daughters. I’m very close with my father, and it was really meaningful for me to honor that relationship, since I’ve written so much about mothers and daughters.
She Reads: Your books often include a touch of magic while remaining grounded. What draws you to that hint of the supernatural?
Rebecca Serle: First of all, it’s fun. When an idea involving magic comes to me, it feels ripe with potential. Magic allows you to bypass certain rules. But it has to serve the emotional truth of the story. If it doesn’t deepen or unlock something human, then it’s just spectacle.
In Once and Again, there’s also a bit of an origin story for the magic, which I haven’t really done before. It has a slightly fairy-tale quality—almost like a bedtime story. That just sort of emerged as I was writing. It felt different, but still grounded in the emotional core of the story.
She Reads: The novel asks whether it’s possible to love someone deeply and still choose the wrong life. What do people misunderstand about the “right person, wrong time” dynamic?
Rebecca Serle: I love how you phrased that. We often hear that love isn’t always enough. And I do believe that. You can fall deeply in love with someone and still not be right for partnership in the long term.
Love is essential—it’s the grease on the wheels. But you also need the mechanics of life to work. The compatibility. The shared vision. The practical alignment. Lauren, Marcella, and Sylvia are all wrestling with that question in different ways.
Ultimately, I believe the happiest life is the one you choose to lead happily.
She Reads: You tackle fertility in this book. What challenges did that present?
Rebecca Serle: I’m often in conversation with whatever life stage I’m in. For me, it took a long time to meet my husband. I was in my mid-thirties. There’s this feeling that once you check that box, everything else should fall into place.
But life has its own timeline.
Lauren and her husband are at a crossroads—how much are they willing to do to have the family they long for? Being in that space of not knowing is incredibly raw and human. It felt like the right place for us to meet her.
She Reads: If you had the Novak family gift, would you use it?
Rebecca Serle: No, I don’t think so. And that’s both a personality trait and a luxury. I have a very blessed and privileged life. But if I had lost someone young, or something catastrophic had happened—of course I’d want to undo that. I’m lucky to be in a position where I can say no.
She Reads: If a reader is standing at their own crossroads, what do you hope this story gives them?
Rebecca Serle: I always want readers to feel seen. Even if you’ve never been to California, you don’t have a do-over ticket, you’re not married, or you don’t want children—I hope there’s something in the emotional landscape that resonates.
If a reader can look at the page and say, “Yes. I recognize this. I feel seen,” then I’ve done my job.
She Reads: Can you share an update on your adaptations?
Rebecca Serle: All of my books are currently in various stages of development—one for television and the rest for film. Two are very close to happening, which is exciting.
I’m producing all of the adaptations now, which has been a really fun shift. Writing is solitary. Film and television are collaborative. It’s energizing to be part of those conversations after spending months alone at a desk.
She Reads: Are there scenes you’re especially excited to see on screen?
Rebecca Serle: In Once and Again, there’s a moment near the end between Marcella and Sylvia involving the ticket. I can’t say more, but when you read it, you’ll know.
In In Five Years, it’s when Bella tells Danny he’s never been in love, and he responds, “Yes, I have,” clearly meaning her.
In One Italian Summer, it’s the goodbye between Carol and Katie, when Carol asks, “Is it true what you said? Did I leave you?” and Katie says, “No, you never did.”
Those tentpole emotional moments are the ones I think about most.
She Reads: Is there anyone you’d love to see cast?
Rebecca Serle: I’m not a very visual writer, so I don’t usually picture actors. But lately I’ve been thinking about Meghann Fahy. There’s something mercurial and playful about her that I find really compelling. I feel like she could play almost anything.
She Reads: What are you currently reading?
Rebecca Serle: I’m reading an advanced copy of The Shampoo Effect by Jenny Jackson. I’m loving it. My husband had to tell me to go to sleep the other night because I wouldn’t stop reading.
I always recommend The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. by Adelle Waldman. It’s a master class in character study.
I also loved Yellowface, and recently I’ve been recommending I See You Called in Dead. It’s a beautiful, funny meditation on what it means to live and die.
And I can’t wait for my dear friend Chloe Benjamin’s new book, Understory. She’s been working on it for years, and I’m so excited to read it.
She Reads: What are you watching?
Rebecca Serle: Shrinking is my favorite show on TV right now. I also love Tell Me Lies and, admittedly, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
She Reads: And finally—what’s next?
Rebecca Serle: I’m working on a book about new motherhood.
It feels like the natural next step.
She Reads: Thank you so much for your time. We’re so excited to share Once and Again with our readers.
Rebecca Serle: Thank you. It was so nice to be here.
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