Katy Simpson Smith was born and raised in Jackson,Mississippi. She attended Mount Holyoke Collegeand received a PhD in history from the University ofNorth Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MFA from theBennington Writing Seminars. She has been working asan adjunct professor at Tulane University and has publisheda study of early American motherhood, We HaveRaised All of You: Motherhood in the South, 1750–1835.She lives in New Orleans.

‘Pure pleasure…the best novel I’ve read all year’ Anita Shreve‘A wonderful novel of heartbreaking grief but also of redemptive hope … In high but warranted praise it very much evoked Marilynne Robinson’s acclaimed GILEAD’ Chicago Tribune (Editor’s Pick)‘Poignant and intensely lyrical’ NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW‘Smith’s soulful language of loss is almost biblical, and the descriptions of her characters’ sorrows are poetic and moving’ PUBLISHERS WEEKLY‘From the start, Ms. Smith’s spare, rhythmic prose captivates Her refusal to serve up false redemption is admirable’ NEW YORK TIMES‘Smith has a real gift for describing both hope and despair … she is absolutely a writer to watch’ NPR‘Among the most assured debut novels in recent memory, it heralds the birth of a major new talent’ VOGUE‘Astonishingly relatable characters’ HUFFINGTON POST