The Leftovers is a 2011 novel by American author Tom Perrotta chronicling life on earth after a rapture-like event takes some and leaves others behind. The billions left behind are all touched by the loss of loved ones in the "Sudden Departure", compounded by the significant social and philosophical concerns and implications of what it means to be left behind, when others were chosen. A television adaptation premiered on HBO on June 29, 2014.