If you haven't encountered the book, you've probably encountered someone who has. Theo arrives in the small Southern town of Golden, finds pencil portraits of local residents hanging in a coffee shop, and starts buying them one at a time and delivering each portrait to the person in it. Their stories accumulate. His own tragedy surfaces.
The publishing story is almost better than the plot
- Levi, a former lawyer and singer-songwriter, self-published it in 2023 as a first-time author in his late sixties.
- It spread by word of mouth, got picked up by Simon & Schuster, and was published wide in October 2025.
- More than 3.5 million copies sold in the US alone, translated into 43 languages, a number one bestseller in the Netherlands, Italy and the UK.
- Oprah featured Levi on her podcast in July, at which point the thing detonated.
Who's making it
Gil Netter produces alongside Gary Goetzman and Hanks, with Levi executive producing. Jesse Ehrman and Sheila Walcott oversee for Warner Bros. Netter's résumé is exactly the right shape for this: Marley & Me, The Blind Side, Life of Pi.
Deadline compares the trajectory to The Bridges of Madison County, which is both a compliment and a warning about the crying involved.
Hanks shoots The Comebacker for Sony this fall, playing a New York Mets hitting coach.