Hope College alum’s book becomes Netflix film

Art

Jan 9

Written By Staff

Emily Henry
Photo courtesy of Hope College

“People We Meet on Vacation,” a best-selling novel by 2012 Hope College graduate Emily Henry, has been adapted into a feature film now streaming on Netflix.

Henry, an English major at Hope, is the author of six novels, including “Beach Read,” which spent more than 12 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller list. According to a 2020 Hope College English Department blog post, Henry credits her time at Hope—and specifically a novel writing class—for helping her develop the discipline and perspective to succeed in publishing.

“That class freed me from the kind of perfectionism and fear that makes it hard to finish anything,” she said in the post. “Having a liberal arts education was just good for me as a person and a writer. It taught me curiosity, and made me think a lot about the ways that everything is connected, and that’s what a lot of my work is about now.”

“People We Meet on Vacation,” originally published in 2021, follows two best friends whose yearly summer trips blur the lines between friendship and something more. In a post on her Substack, Henry shared how surreal it feels to see the book brought to life on screen.

“The joke among writers is, you never tell anyone that your book is being made into a movie until you’re sitting down with popcorn to watch it. That’s how hard it is for things to really get made,” Henry said. “This movie exists because of you. In every conceivable way.”

The film, directed by Brett Haley, is the product of a years-long development process that Henry said kept the readers at its heart. While the adaptation makes changes to accommodate a shorter narrative format, Henry emphasized that every decision was made with readers in mind.

“I’m thrilled, ecstatic, relieved to tell you how much I love this movie, and more importantly, how much I think you’re going to love it. I hope you do. It’s for you,” said Henry.

The full letter to fans is available via Henry’s Substack: https://emilyhenry.substack.com/.