Wellness, motherhood, and technology converge in a near future California, as three women’s seemingly innocuous decisions have further-reaching consequences than any of them could imagine in this timely, clever, and white-knuckled thriller.
In 2060, the WellPod is the latest launch from the largest tech company the world has ever seen a fleet of floating personal paradises scattered throughout the Pacific Ocean, focused entirely on health, solitude, and relaxation. Created by an enigmatic founder who will stop at nothing to ensure her company’s success, it is the long-awaited pinnacle of wellness technology. For newly pregnant Maggie, the six-week program is the perfect chance to get away…especially since the baby isn’t her partner’s.
Noa Behar isn’t a perfect fiancée. She’s too distracted, too focused on her work in helping program the WellPod to give Maggie the attention she deserves. But when she discovers something rotten beneath WellPod’s shiny exterior a history of faulty tech and dangerous cover-ups she knows one thing: she’ll do whatever it takes to keep Maggie safe.
The problem? The malfunctioning WellPods are already at sea. And there’s a storm coming...
About the Author
Leslie Stephens is the creator of the popular newsletter Morning Person. Her work has appeared in the Los Angeles Review of Books, Eater, and other outlets including Cupcakes & Cashmere, where she worked as an editor. A graduate of Wellesley College, she is currently earning her master's in counseling, with specializations in addiction and ecotherapy, from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon, where she lives with her pit-mix, Toast.
Industry Reviews
"Part psychological thriller and part wry social commentary, You’re Safe Here is a fresh and timely debut that deftly explores the potential—and betrayals—of a world bursting with unbound technological innovation. The complicated, yearning women in the novel navigate a treacherous landscape, all while coming to terms with their own ambitions and desires, ultimately forcing readers to ask themselves: What does safety mean to me? How far would I go to achieve it? With deliciously paced storytelling sprinkled with secrets galore, Leslie Stephens’s debut promises to guide you through uncertain waters with grace and authority." —Thao Thai, author of BANYAN MOON, a #ReadwithJenna pick