How I Met Your Mother Co-Creator Craig Thomas Announces Debut Novel, Inspired by His Journey as a Dad — See the Cover! (Exclusive)

Craig Thomas is bringing a Hollywood story to the page.

PEOPLE can exclusively reveal the cover of the How I Met Your Mother co-creator’s debut novel, That’s Not How It Happened. The book will hit shelves this fall via Hanover Square Press.

The novel follows Paige, who inadvertently becomes a stay-at-home mother once her husband Rob’s screenwriting career takes off. After her children grow up, including her son Emmett, who has Down syndrome, Paige decides to write about the challenges of motherhood in a memoir.

When Paige’s book becomes a bestseller, and a Hollywood producer wants to develop it for film, each member of the family views the opportunity differently. Rob, anxious for a comeback, sees the project as the way to get his career back on track. The couple’s daughter, Darcy, fears the movie will make her invisible within her family, especially as she prepares for college. Finally, Emmett views the film as a chance to accomplish two goals: propose to his girlfriend and meet his longtime idol, Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder.

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The multi-perspective novel follows each family member as they determine whether the new movie will bring them close to one another or, ultimately, drive them apart.

The novel, per a statement shared with PEOPLE, draws on Thomas’ experience raising his son Elliot, who was born with Jacobsen syndrome. The rare genetic condition causes developmental and health challenges.

“I hope this novel will get people thinking and talking about how we think and talk about disability; about how our stories get told (and who gets to tell them); and about how love stories can come in many different shapes and sizes,” the Emmy-nominated writer said in the statement.

Fans of How I Met Your Mother, which Thomas co-created with Carter Bays, are also in for a treat, as the novel’s audiobook will be partially narrated by cast members Josh Radnor and Cobie Smulders.

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Thomas’ writing has also appeared in outlets like The New Yorker, McSweeney’s and The Boston Globe. In 2025, he launched the How I Met Your Mother rewatch podcast, How We Made Your Mother, with Radnor joining as co-host.

That’s Not How It Happened will be published on Nov. 4 and is now available for preorder, wherever books are sold.