The key ideas

This Story Might Save Your Life

Tiffany Crum, 2026

Joy Moore and Benny Abbott host a comedy podcast about how to survive deadly situations, and millions of people listen. One evening Joy secretly summons Benny with a note, and half an hour later she throws him out. By morning neither she nor her husband is home, the bathroom window is smashed, and their dog is sitting by the gate. Benny searches for his friend, the police search for someone to blame, and Joy's password-protected memoir holds a story she has never told anyone.

Who it is for

For anyone who loves thrillers with two narrators and an ending that turns everything you've read upside down. For podcast listeners, especially fans of survival and true crime shows. For anyone curious about how people live with narcolepsy.

Be kind, friends. You never know what someone is going through.

Inside the whale

October in Los Angeles. The hot Santa Ana wind is thrashing the trees on Mount Washington. In a basement studio, they are recording the podcast This Story Might Save Your Life. Benny Abbott sets the challenge: a humpback whale has scooped a woman into its mouth, kayak and all, so how does she escape? Joy Moore, as always, demands a sword. They laugh for half an hour, and then the power goes out.

Joy hasn't left the house in six weeks. Seizing a moment, she slips a note into Benny's pocket and presses a finger to her lips.

Tiffany Crum's novel speaks in two voices. Benny searches for his friend day after day. Joy writes a memoir, and in it she tells what she kept silent about for years.

Part one. A note in his pocket

The note has three lines: “Meet me tonight. Here. 7pm sharp. Very important.” Benny arrives right on time, and half an hour later Joy shows him the door. He drinks until late at night and texts her: “I'm sorry,” “Please forget I said anything.” No answer. Instead, Joy's husband, Xander, texts him in capital letters: “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?”

Benny has been friends with Joy for thirteen years. He has a red beard, wild copper curls and green eyes. Joy has chestnut bangs down to her lashes and a dimple in one cheek. She has had narcolepsy since her teens: sleep can overtake her anywhere.

In the morning Joy's house is empty. The bed is made, the bathroom window is smashed, and there are shards even on the toilet lid. Xander's old car is gone. Only Potsie, Joy's beagle, sits by the gate.

Detective Keller advises against making a fuss, but that night Benny records an episode asking for help, and the website drowns in messages. The next morning Benny's ex-wife, the lawyer Luna, says that Joy was planning to get a divorce. Keller adds that on Tuesday evening someone tried to transfer a million dollars from their company's account to Benny's personal account.

Benny says nothing about having taken Joy's laptop. On it is a folder called XYZ: three raw episode recordings and a password-protected file.

Read in Livria

About the author

Tiffany Crum grew up on a dairy farm down the road from a maximum-security prison. She lived in California for many years and worked in the film industry, then earned an MFA in creative writing. She now lives in Atlanta with her husband, sons and dogs. Her debut novel, This Story Might Save Your Life, was published in 2026 by Flatiron Books. In her acknowledgments, the author writes that Narcolepsy Network helped her learn about narcolepsy.

All books by this author: Tiffany Crum

Terms from the book

  • Keller
  • Joy: Joy Moore, podcast co-host and graphic designer. She has lived with narcolepsy since her teens, on a strict schedule of sleep and medication.
  • Benny: Benny Abbott, Joy's best friend, her co-host and the sound engineer. Red beard, copper curls, green eyes, and every feeling written on his face.
  • Xander: Joy's husband, a fair-haired Dane who moved to Los Angeles at twelve. The podcast's producer, co-owner of the company and the one in charge of business deals.
  • Mallory: Xander's younger sister, a reserved platinum blonde. For the past six months she has worked for them as an assistant producer.
  • Luna: Benny's ex-wife, a divorce lawyer. Smart and composed, she sees right through Benny.
  • Carlotta: Joy's neighbor, a former criminal court judge, being treated for leukemia for the second time in five years. She lives with her partner Emil, a former Hollywood stuntman and Xander's personal trainer.
  • narcolepsy: A chronic sleep disorder: a person suddenly falls asleep during the day, and on the border between sleep and waking has vivid hallucinations that are hard to tell from reality.
  • Fonzie: A bronze statue of Fonzie, the hero of the TV series Happy Days, with both thumbs up. The podcast's lucky charm. Joy's and Benny's dogs, Potsie and Richie, are named after characters from the same show.
  • Santa Ana: A hot, dry wind that blows through Southern California in the fall, breaking trees and fanning wildfires.

All terms

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