Zibby Publishing – serie

A National Bestseller!Longlisted for the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Short Story CollectionLonglisted for THE STORY PRIZEA Library Journal Best Book of 2024!A Most Exciting Debut Short Story Collection of 2024 by Electric Literature“Short story fans might just discover their new favorite author in this arresting collection, a must-have.” —Library Journal (starred review)What happens when you are forced to let go of the things you love the most? What are you left with?In this stunning debut short story collection, Mary Jones uses her distinctive voice to examine the painful and sometimes surreal ways we say goodbye. The stories—which range from tender and heartbreaking to unsettling and darkly funny—are connected by the central theme of letting go.A woman camps out on the porch of an ex-lover who has barricaded himself inside; a preteen girl caught shoplifting lands in grave danger; a man hires a professional mourner to ensure his wife’s funeral is a success. Time and again, Jones’s characters find themselves facing the ends of things: relationships, health, and innocence.Arresting and original, The Goodbye Process packs a punch, just the way grief does―knocking us off our feet.

"I will be thinking about this book for a long time." -Sally Hepworth, author of Darling GirlsThe shocking, unforgettable novel that Junot Daz called "searingly brilliant," now with an exclusive bonus chapter, enhanced discussion guide, and a conversation with the author, Ava Dellaira.GRIEF IS LIKE THIS . . .Falling in love with your best friend, only to lose her to a mysterious death.Working for decades to achieve a dream, and just when it's within reach, watching it threaten to go up in flames.Rushing home to the city you fled years ago to witness your father's last breaths.Spending the first sleepless months in the throes of new motherhood alone, as your husband struggles to save his career.Befriending the woman who should be your enemy, because you are that lonely . . .Annie, Jesse, Noah, and Juliette are tied together by their experiences of grief; they are separated by their own versions of the truth of what happened on a single night twelve years ago, when Juliette, a college freshman grieving her mother, and Noah, a high school senior fighting for a place in a world that told him he didn't matter, found each other. Spanning decades, this complex, captivating story pulls back the curtains of cancel culture to explore ambition, empathy, art, desire, consent, motherhood, and what it really means to lose everything.