More Than Enough

Author Anna Quindlen is back at NWS with a book that claims “no one knows you like your book club”

By Anna Faller | Feb. 14, 2026

As a journalist, avid reader, and bestselling author, Anna Quindlen has always been interested in authenticity—both in books that readers can lose themselves in and characters whose lives feel real and familiar.

“I want a book I live in,” she says. “I want to read and write books that the reader feels like they’re walking around in. When that happens, I feel like I’ve done what I set out to do.”

Quindlen takes the National Writers Series stage on Saturday, March 7, at 2pm for a conversation about her newest novel, More Than Enough, which explores the meaning of friendship and family when everything else in life feels like a massive question mark.

Linchpins and DNA Tests

We’ve all had a version of that question mark moment, right? So how does Quindlen make a universal experience feel fresh and full of life?

It all starts with the characters. Quindlen points to the years of dialogue practice she honed in the newsroom, the importance of giving her protagonists time to materialize, and how she painstakingly plants the detailed breadcrumbs through which her literary realms come alive.

Creating realistic characters also means exploring the “linchpin” concepts of what it means to be human. For Quindlen, loss often tops this list (which she addresses in her bestselling novel, After Annie), as do topics like motherhood, female friendships, and, in the case of More Than Enough, family.

In Quindlen’s latest, readers follow Polly Goodman, a 40-something English teacher at an elite girls’ high school in New York, who’s found herself in the throes of unfamiliar challenges as she nears middle age.

For starters, her beloved father is rapidly sinking into dementia, while her mother, with whom she’s never quite clicked, seems to prioritize her career over Polly. Then there’s the emotional and physical toll of Polly’s fertility journey, which, despite years of trying and thousands of dollars in IVF treatments, has yet to succeed.

To navigate this crossroads moment, Polly often calls on her inner circle. There is her older brother, Garrison, her grounding force and only sibling; her gem of a husband, Mark; and her gaggle of book club pals—Sarah, Helen, and Jamie—who have hyped her up, held her down, and heard it all through 13 years of friendship.

But when the book clubbers jokingly give Polly a mail-in DNA test, the results of which reveal a mystery relative, the very foundation of Polly’s identity is called into question.

Pinball and Inflection Points

Per Quindlen, a book that probes the preconceptions of family felt like a no-brainer.

In stark opposition to Polly, Quindlen was born into a large Irish family. In fact, her father is one of seven, and his parents alone had 32 grandchildren. “Those connections seemed inevitably to be what I was going to concern myself with,” she explains.

Blood, however, doesn’t necessarily breed a family-caliber bond, and as Quindlen highlights, carries dwindling social and cultural significance, especially from a 21st century lens.

“That was something that really interested me and that I wanted to dig down into,” she adds. “I think we’re much more aware today that DNA is less important than having to interrogate deeply your idea of who you’re connected to and why.”

This, Quindlen says, is because those connections often clarify our true priorities.

“We bounce off of other people like pinballs,” she says, “and through that bouncing, we figure out [our] direction.”

In the novel, it’s Polly’s closest and most authentic connections—the quiet support of her husband, her father’s love, and her friendship with Sarah, especially—that eventually allow her to break free of her self-imposed limitations and recognize that she is more than enough, with or without biology as a witness.

While Quindlen has never taken a DNA test, she recalls a similar “identity moment” to Polly’s wherein the bond she shares with her brother prompted her to reevaluate her role in her family.

“That was an enormous inflection point in my life, and I thank him for it,” she says.

Free Birds and a Stranger’s Shoes

As for the reader’s inflection point? That’s not for Quindlen to decide.

As she sees it, every novel exists like a bird in a cage to be freed by publication. The moment that happens, the book and everything it contains stop being hers and instead belong to the reader.

Consequently, Quindlen explains, “I stopped thinking about what I want [audiences] to take from my work a long time ago and got much more invested in what I could learn from them. That gives the reader a kind of power that’s a little disconcerting and also really exciting!”

She does, however, note the importance of continuing to celebrate connection through literature (or even better, an infallible book club!).

“Books make you feel less alone,” she adds. “Every time you read a book, you walk in someone else’s shoes. That is a recipe for empathy, understanding, and tolerance—all things that we need so badly right now.”

Never Enough Time at NWS

Though the title of her featured novel might suggest otherwise, Quindlen has yet to experience more than enough of Traverse City’s committed readership.

In fact, her 2026 event will mark her fourth NWS appearance and counting. It all started some years ago—“when I was ignorant,” Quindlen says with a laugh—with a scheduled tour stop in Traverse City and a subsequent call to friend and New York Times bestselling author, Harlan Coben.

“He said, ‘you have to go’!” she notes. “The people who run that National Writers Series are smart and supportive, and [so are] the readers who show up.” In short, Coben assured Quindlen that she would have the time of her life on the Traverse City circuit. Spoiler alert: He was right.

For starters, Quindlen says, there are the obvious draws: the warm and “small town-y” downtown strip, the beautiful (though, likely still icy in March) bay views, and the infamous and infinite cherries. But it’s the investment and enthusiasm of NWS audiences that keep Quindlen coming back.

“[These] are people who really care about books,” she says. “As a writer, there’s nothing like looking into those seats and seeing people who are there because they care about what you do.”

About the Event

Anna Quindlen’s National Writers Series event takes place on Saturday, March 7, at 2pm at Traverse City Central High School (1150 Milliken Dr.) and via livestream. In-person and virtual tickets can be purchased through the links on the National Writers Series website. Select bundles include a signed copy of More Than Enough. The guest host for the event is Doug Stanton, #1 New York Times bestselling author and co-founder of the National Writers Series. For more information, visit nationalwritersseries.org.