Everything Happens for a Reason

'Emotionally engaging, witty, clever and wonderfully satisfying' ‘A stunning debut … a wise, moving, and thought-provoking novel’ ‘A heartbreaking, deeply moving and wonderfully witty tale, which celebrates all it means to be human’ –––––––––––––– Mum-to-be Rachel did everything right, but it all went wrong. Her son, Luke, was stillborn and she finds herself on maternity leave without a baby, trying to make sense of her loss. When a misguided well-wisher tells her that “everything happens for a reason”, she becomes obsessed with finding that reason, driven by grief and convinced that she is somehow to blame. She remembers that on the day she discovered her pregnancy, she’d stopped a man from jumping in front of a train, and she’s now certain that saving his life cost her the life of her son. Desperate to find him, she enlists an unlikely ally in Lola, an Underground worker, and Lola’s seven-year-old daughter, Josephine, and eventually tracks him down, with completely unexpected results...  Both a heart-wrenchingly poignant portrait of grief and a gloriously uplifting and disarmingly funny story of a young woman’s determination, is a bittersweet, life- affirming read and, quite simply, unforgettable. –––––––––––––– ‘A beautiful novel, bursting with raw emotional honesty and authenticity’ ‘So affecting. Profoundly sad. Funny. I just loved it’ ‘Darkly funny, yet poignant and moving ... Rachel's quest to find out if everything happens for a reason is both heartbreaking and heartwarming’ ‘Some books teach you, others touch your soul, then there are books like this one that bury deep and create a home in your heart’ ‘A triumph … a book of hope and ambition and making sense of the world, a tale of acting spontaneously, living in the moment and throwing caution to the wind’ ‘An incredibly important and beautifully written book. Bittersweet and brave, it will keep you both laughing and crying until the last page’ ‘The perfect mix of clever, funny and intensely moving’ ’A heart-wrenching, soul-lifting read about loss and redemption in unlikely places’ ‘Read it and weep but also, incredibly, find moments to laugh and to know there is life after death’ ‘Simultaneously devastating and hilarious’ ’A memorable, poetic read ... The writing reminded me of ’ ‘Quirky yet insightful, bright yet wistful, amusing yet emotional … full of contradictions that fuse into the most surprising, moving, and beautiful novel’ For fans of Jonas Jonasson, Matt Haig, Graeme Simsion and Rachel Joyce.