I Meant It Once

Named a Best Book of 2023 by Electric Literature & Debutiful

Named a Most Anticipated Book of Summer / July by GMA.com, The Millions, PureWow, & Debutiful

"Gorgeously written and staggeringly honest, I Meant It Once is a reclamation of female friendship, intellect, rage, desire, and creativity—placing a timeless filter on contemporary questions. It will bewitch you."

"A delicate balance of sharp and sweet, I Meant It Once explores longing, belonging and the big emotions that can make us feel small with unusual elegance and depth. Kate Doyle is both a gifted observer of human nature and an original and poetic prose stylist."

“A brilliant collection of coming-of-age short stories about young women, I Meant It Once completely captures the stage of life of the in-between, when everything is possible and everything in the past is relentlessly re-examined.”

“[A] lively debut collection… Doyle’s prose reads like Lydia Davis at her most arch and pensive.”

“A collection of sparkling prose that beautifully tangles life's changes, uncertainties, and self-discoveries... delightfully entertaining and often subtly profound…vulnerable, honest, and intimate. Doyle's characters are brightly imagined and, at moments, darkly humorous. She captures womanhood's intense and precarious state of deciding whose expectations to rise to and whose to break away from. I Meant It Once is brilliantly conceived, written, and compiled.”

“[With] wry dialogue and distinctive eye for details . . . . [and] masterful prose. . . Fleet, funny, and perceptive, I Meant It Once entertains even as it contemplates what people actually mean to each other, and what it all means.”

“Doyle’s debut story collection plumbs the inner lives of young women faced with the uncertainty, nostalgia, and romantic tribulations that are part and parcel of being alive in your twenties. This one is pitched for readers of Batuman, Moshfegh, and Lockwood—a holy trinity of sharp, searching female characters. Say no more.”
 

“[A] collection of such stories, linked in subtle ways, that perfectly encapsulate what it’s like to reflect on your youth while you’re still in it.”

“Doyle’s brutally honest debut collection explores the joy and disappointment of familial, platonic, and romantic relationships… Doyle exposes family dynamics with humor and sincerity, skillfully exploring the interplay between devotion and betrayal. Readers will savor Doyle’s bracing blend of wit and candor.”

“A quiet, but revelatory debut collection. Each story is as sharp with wit and piercing with insight as the next . . . What separates this collection from others like it, is the brutal authenticity that proves Doyle’s authorial voice and talent will be one to watch in the years to come.”

“The stories that fill Doyle’s debut are clever and mesmerizing. She navigates intimate moments with precise plotting, lavish language, and colorful characters. Each story is a stand-out. To quote Sum-41, it’s all killer and no filler.”

“With a spare, soft touch, [Doyle] celebrates the intimacies and mourns the losses that shape her characters’ lives… Doyle explores those choices and turning points with wit, lovely language and skillful elisions.”

“[Doyle] weaves a rich cast of characters [… and] presents their stories with such tenderness and empathy that readers can’t help but be fully immersed.”

"A witty and sharp collection of stories about the inner lives of young women during their transformative twenties..."

“I was enraptured by these stories… Doyle forces us to question why we dismiss young women of this age so readily and at what cost. A brilliant new voice and a subtle inquirer of society. Perfect for fans of Greta Gerwig.”