Sarah Jessica Parker reflects on “And Just Like That” finale and her next chapter in publishing

Sarah Jessica Parker is opening up about the decision to end “And Just Like That,” HBO’s “Sex and the City” revival, while continuing her passion for publishing through SJP Lit, her book imprint known for championing novels “with a big heart.”

During an appearance on “CBS Mornings,” Parker said ending the beloved series was a difficult decision and that she spoke it about it with “And Just Like That” creator Michael Patrick King.

“I think it’s out of respect for this really singular professional experience that you have to consider what you want to do, have you done it, and sometimes it’s best to gracefully walk away when things feel really right and energetic, versus squeezing and exploiting people’s generosity and hospitality,” she said. 

Parker suggested the door might not be completely closed. 

“I’m not certain I understand that decision means, because I could just be on hiatus,” she said.

Parker’s book club selection

The actor and publisher shifted the conversation to her latest literary selection, “I Am You” by Victoria Redel, a historical novel set in 1600s Amsterdam that follows two female artists navigating their careers and a secret romance.

Parker said she “fell in love with this book” immediately, praising Redel as a “supremely talented author.” The novel centers on Maria van Oosterwijck and her assistant, the younger painter Gerta Pieters — based on real historical figures about whom little is known.

“The fact that these two women, the subjects of this extraordinary story, are in fact real people that very little is known about,” Parker said. “You have an author who is just incredibly skillful at taking fact and history and making this surprising, sensuous, atmospheric, dramatic, wholly unexpected story come to life.”

The novel explores themes of ambition, power, devotion and transformation as a maid becomes a painter under her mistress’s tutelage, eventually surpassing her teacher, hence the title “I Am You.”

“What happens when you step into your own authority, your own sense of self, and that sounds like a beautiful thing and it is a beautiful thing,” Redel said. “But it’s also a messy thing.”