We Thought They'd Never Leave

Musings on Food and Family

LIST PRICE $14.99

PRICE MAY VARY BY RETAILER

Digital products purchased on SimonandSchuster.com must be read on the Simon & Schuster Books app. Learn more.

Get 20% off with code SPOOKY plus free shipping on orders of $40 or more. Discount on physical products only. Terms apply.

Buy from Other Retailers

About the Book

From Emmy, Tony, and Golden Globe winner Tony Shalhoub comes a delightful, heartfelt memoir about food, family, recipes, and the stories we pass down around the table.

Every summer for over five decades, more than fifty members of the Shalhoub family have gathered in Door County, Wisconsin, for a week of home-cooked meals, fiercely competitive card games, old stories, new memories, and just enough chaos to keep things interesting.

Written with his daughter Josie Adams, We Thought They’d Never Leave is Tony Shalhoub’s warm and deeply personal reflection on the people who shaped him. Through stories spanning four generations—from an orphaned Lebanese boy who survived wartime hunger to the sprawling family he would one day help create—Tony traces the Lebanese American family traditions, meals, and rituals that continue to bring the Shalhoubs back together year after year.

Along the way, the beloved actor known for Monk and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel reflects on growing up as one of ten children in a lively Lebanese American household in Green Bay, Wisconsin; navigating family life, work, and parenthood; and helping preserve a reunion that has become a beloved family institution. Also included are twenty treasured family recipes, ranging from stuffed grape leaves and tabbouleh to Midwestern chili and cherry pie.

Filled with unforgettable characters, deeply moving stories, and Tony’s signature humor, We Thought They’d Never Leave is an invitation to join the Shalhoub table, where everyone has an opinion, everyone is expected to pitch in, and there’s always room for one more.

Appearances

OCT 27
7:00PM
In Person

Tony Shalhoub

Learn More
Symphony Space
Sharp Theatre
2537 Broadway
New York, NY 10025
OCT 28
7:00PM
In Person

Tony Shalhoub

Learn More
Words Bookstore
179 Maplewood Avenue
Maplewood, NJ 07040
OCT 29
7:00PM
In Person

Tony Shalhoub

Learn More
The Country School
341 Opening Hill Road
Madison, CT 06443
NOV 1
4:00PM
In Person

Tony Shalhoub

Learn More
Images Cinema
Clark Art Institute
225 South Street
Williamstown , MA 01267
NOV 5
8:00PM
In Person

Tony Shalhoub

Learn More
LA Live Talks
The Moss Theater
3131 Olympic Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90404
NOV 6
7:00PM
In Person

Tony Shalhoub

Learn More
The Cabin Idaho
The Egyptian Theatre
700 W. Main Street
Boise, ID 83702
NOV 9
6:00PM
In Person

Tony Shalhoub

Learn More
Barnes & Noble
Green Bay, #2085
2498 Oneida St
Green Bay, WI 54304
NOV 15
7:00PM
In Person

Tony Shalhoub

Learn More
Miami Book Fair
Miami Dade College Wolfson Campus
300 NE Second Ave.
Miami, FL 33132

About the Author

Mindy Tucker

Tony Shalhoub is an Emmy-, Tony-, and Golden Globe–winning actor whose career spans film, television, and theater. He is best known for his roles in Monk, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Wings, and has appeared in dozens of acclaimed films and television projects. On Broadway, he has performed in The Band’s Visit, for which he won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical, as well as Conversations with My Father, Golden Boy, and Act One. He has also received multiple Screen Actors Guild Awards, among numerous other honors recognizing his work on stage and screen. We Thought They’d Never Leave is his debut book.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Gallery Books (October 27, 2026)
  • Length: 288 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781668227749

Browse Related Books

Raves and Reviews

"Tony Shalhoub's talent knows no bounds. His writing is as witty, warm, and charming as he is." —Stanley Tucci, New York Times bestselling author of Taste and What I Ate In One Year

"Tony is a longtime friend, and while reading his and Josie's wonderful book, I couldn't help but be bothered that he's never invited me to dinner." —Seth Meyers

"This is my kind of book—hilarious and warm stories of family, surrounded by love and food! Tony and his daughter Josie have invited us to their big, beautiful table, and I might not be leaving." —Phil Rosenthal, New York Times bestselling author of Somebody Feed Phil the Book and Phil’s Favorites

“In 2018 I spent three weeks in Paris watching the gentle man I knew as Tony Shalhoub become a food obsessed monster, with feral eyes, screaming about lunch. After this book, I understand: Food is his language, his history, and the terrifying trigger to his inner demon.” —Amy Sherman-Palladino

“A wonderfully affectionate story of actor Tony Shalhoub's love of family and food (not necessarily in that order) as reflected in his family's annual gatherings in Door County, Wisconsin.  Witty, charming and deeply affecting, this is a book for the ages.” —Keith McNally, New York Times bestselling author of I Regret Almost Everything

Resources and Downloads

High Resolution Images

More books from this author: Tony Shalhoub

BACK TO TOP