Colleen Hoover is a publishing phenomenon and one of the most successful authors of all time.

Since rising to fame over a decade ago, she has sold tens of millions of books worldwide

and built a massive devoted following. What makes Colleen's story remarkable

is that fame was never the goal. She began writing simply because she loved it, sharing stories

that were raw, emotional, and deeply personal. Those stories struck a chord with readers and

helped bring a new generation back to bookstores. By the time I sat down with Colleen a few years ago, her books were dominating the New York

Times bestseller list, even having multiple titles charting at the same time, all powered

by her passionate fan community, known as the cohorts. Since then, her impact has only grown.

Colleen has now published more than two dozen novels, spanning romance to thrillers that tackle complex subjects like trauma, love, and resilience.

Her most popular novel, It Ends With Us, a story inspired in part by her mother's life, expanded her reach beyond the page, with a major film adaptation starring Blake Lively,

which grossed more than $350 million worldwide. In our conversation from June 2023 recorded at

her book Bonanza charity event in Texas, Colleen and I talk about her unexpected rise to literary

superstardom and how deeply her books have resonated

with readers. I'm Jenna Bush-Hager. Welcome to my podcast, Open Book with Jenna.

Thank you. Colleen, I have the New York Times bestseller list from this week.

Your books are highlighted.

If you notice you kind of dominate it,

do you ever feel bad for the other authors?

Well, honestly, I was relieved to see there were five on there this week,

but kind of served in like six and seven, and I'm like, okay, okay.

No, it's such an amazing feeling and a little confusing.

When you first started writing in 2012, could you ever have imagined this?

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