Coming October 2026
A lilting piece of music. An incandescent work of art glimpsed across a crowded room. A tattered photograph found while looking for something else. A friend who holds fast to joy and grace at the absolute edge of everything.
Wonder is a sanctuary for those moments — the ones that find us when we aren’t looking and remind us what it feels like to be fully alive.
In thirteen lyric essays drawn across four movements, Gary Waddell takes us on a sweeping journey from a twilight backyard in North Carolina, to a Parisian chapel, to a desert sky of breathless brilliance, illuminating the quiet, improbable course we chart as we make our way back to wonder.
For readers of Anna Quindlen’s A Short Guide to a Happy Life, Ross Gay’s The Book of Delights, and Mary Oliver.
Wonder arrives October 2026 in hardcover, paperback, and ebook, with an audiobook to follow.
Early Words
“I couldn’t put it down. It is exquisite. A profound read — and I say that with no hyperbole. It spoke to something missing in me that I cannot verbalize yet.”— Bonnie Lieberman, School Board President
“[Waddell] gives you permission to be genuinely amazed — not just by the grand and the obvious, but by the texture of ordinary life. You don’t need to be standing in a Parisian museum to feel it … you can find it in your own backyard, with fireflies.”— Jean Holbrook, Ed.D., San Mateo County Superintendent of Schools, Retired
“I was deeply impacted by this charming book. I laughed and I cried. It is the rare book that moves me to these heartfelt emotions. The author truly gives us a present, in the art of being present. Wonder is genuine, it is tender, and it is courageous in its vulnerability. It comes to us at the right moment — this moment, the moment we all have.”— Valerie Dionne, LCSW, Mental Health Specialist
“I was moved by this book. It changed me. The book is like a beautiful walk through the wonder that is our own lives.”— Koki Vieto, Community Health Supervisor
Pre-Order
Every copy ordered here is signed by hand — and if you’d like it inscribed to someone in particular, just tell me who at checkout. A book that arrives with your name in it is a different kind of gift.
Paperback
$16.99
5.5″ × 8.5″, cream paper. Signed, with a personalization option.
Pre-order paperbackPre-orders ship ahead of publication. Shipping is calculated at checkout; payment is handled securely through Square. Ordering twenty or more? Email me for bulk pricing.
For Book Clubs
There’s a free kit — discussion questions for all four movements, an art exercise to open with, a mason jar to close with, recipes for the table, and printables you can run off at home. And I’m glad to join your meeting by video, or in person if you’re close.
Join the Wonder list and the opening essay comes straight to your inbox — along with launch news and occasional letters about the art of paying attention.