Reese Witherspoon has officially entered her writing era. He kicked off a book tour for his debut novel, “Gone Before Goodbye,” in Los Angeles on Saturday with his co-author Harlan Coben.
The duo brought their thriller film — which follows Maggie McCabe, a military surgeon who finds herself caught up in the world of Russian billionaires and private medicine — to “Shine Away,” a two-day summit hosted by Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine media company. The star told attendees that she had been considering the story for two and a half years, but had no idea how to write the book, and approached Cobain after meeting him years earlier.
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Reese Witherspoon started out as a novelist
Army combat surgeon Maggie McCabe steps into a high-stakes world of Russian billionaires, private medicine, and cutting-edge technology in this riveting story. Witherspoon shared her mission for the novel, saying: “My biggest goal for this book is to inspire as many little girls as possible to become surgeons, just like Elle Woods inspired them to become lawyers.”
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Harlan Coben co-author
Unlike her acting career, where she often worked within pre-existing roles, Witherspoon described writing the novel as an opportunity to build a story from the ground up. “It was a huge leap beyond acting to creating an entire world from scratch,” he said.
Cobain, who has written several bestselling thrillers, admitted that there was some initial hesitation about the collaboration. He said, “We’ve both had a lot of success, so we were scared. We were entering completely new territory. I warned Reese, ‘We can’t fake this. It’s just the two of us in the room, and we’re completely immersed in this story.'”
This thriller is based on artificial intelligence, medical ethics and the nuances of private surgery. Witherspoon said that Maggie is completely different from the typical female characters of action thrillers. In stories like Jason Bourne or James Bond, women often use their sexuality to get ahead. I wanted a heroine whose power came from her unique skills. She is a reconstructive surgeon, a military veteran, and has worked with Doctors Without Borders, stepping into the world of money and high-stakes medicine.”
The character of Maggie was inspired by Witherspoon’s early life. “I spent the first five years of my life surrounded by doctors on a military base in Germany. Dinner conversations were about complex surgeries, and from a young age I wanted to be a surgeon,” she recalled.
His mother’s decades-long career as a nurse also influenced the story. Witherspoon said, “I thought, why am I so famous? My mom literally saved people’s lives. This book is a love letter to my parents and a way to honor medical professionals around the world.”
On the subject of the reviews, Witherspoon remained mum. “I care less about critics. Half the reviews I’ve done haven’t been good, and I’m okay with that. My real goal is to inspire—if this book makes even more little girls dream of medical school, that’s my success.”
‘Gone Before Goodbye’ is now available in bookstores and online, marking the star’s bold step into the literary world.
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