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Table of Contents
About The Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A gorgeous reminder of what really matters. Prepare to be astounded.” —People • “One of the best, most moving books I have read in years.” —Scott Detrow, NPR • “This is one of the most affecting, original, and unforgettable novels I have ever read.” —Sarah Damoff, author of The Bright Years
For fans of Fredrik Backman and Virginia Evans, an astonishing novel about finding beauty in the brevity of life, as narrated by the one who knows it best: Death.
Travis is Death in the modern world. He lives with his cat in a small, gray town. His job is to offer people comfort in their final hours of life, which he does without complaint or judgement. He’s stoic, gentle, and a little naive, despite who he is, but he never tries to change anyone’s fate. He is responsible for maintaining the balance of nature, and every life must eventually end.
Then Travis meets Dalia, a midwife, and her boisterous eight-year-old daughter Layla, who live across the hall, and despite his best attempts to keep his distance, he finds himself wholeheartedly embraced by other people for the first time. So it is with this seemingly unremarkable family that Travis begins to understand what it means to be truly alive—and what might be irrevocably lost in death.
Written with radiant warmth, wisdom, and compassion, Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt is a timeless and ultimately uplifting story about appreciating life, accepting its end, and finding our place in the universe—especially when it feels most impossible—that will resonate with anyone who has ever loved and lost or worried about time’s passing.
For fans of Fredrik Backman and Virginia Evans, an astonishing novel about finding beauty in the brevity of life, as narrated by the one who knows it best: Death.
Travis is Death in the modern world. He lives with his cat in a small, gray town. His job is to offer people comfort in their final hours of life, which he does without complaint or judgement. He’s stoic, gentle, and a little naive, despite who he is, but he never tries to change anyone’s fate. He is responsible for maintaining the balance of nature, and every life must eventually end.
Then Travis meets Dalia, a midwife, and her boisterous eight-year-old daughter Layla, who live across the hall, and despite his best attempts to keep his distance, he finds himself wholeheartedly embraced by other people for the first time. So it is with this seemingly unremarkable family that Travis begins to understand what it means to be truly alive—and what might be irrevocably lost in death.
Written with radiant warmth, wisdom, and compassion, Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt is a timeless and ultimately uplifting story about appreciating life, accepting its end, and finding our place in the universe—especially when it feels most impossible—that will resonate with anyone who has ever loved and lost or worried about time’s passing.
About The Author
Photograph by TK
Ben Reeves lives in Peterborough, UK, with his wife and two children. An early draft of Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt won the international 2024 Bath Novel Award. When he’s not writing, he paints, makes music, and works as a web designer for a book printing company.
Product Details
- Publisher: Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster (July 7, 2026)
- Length: 256 pages
- ISBN13: 9781668216385
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Raves and Reviews
“This is one of the most affecting, original, and unforgettable novels I have ever read. . . The characters are so vivid that they seem to be sitting beside you, their loves and losses your own. Absolutely breathtaking, with a perfect twist of an ending.” —Sarah Damoff, bestselling author of The Bright Years
"One of the best, most moving books I have read in years."—Scott Detrow, NPR
“This novel has all the ingredients of unforgettability: a plot you’ve never seen, characters you want to love, writing that glimmers on the page, and a spectacular ending that will smack you in the face with an aching joy. Days later, I’m still brimming.” —Monica Wood, bestselling author of How to Read a Book
“Reeves repeatedly takes us to life’s most terrifying knife-edge, heartening us with the steady poetry of everyday life. This clever and vivid book made me fall in love with our collective ephemerality. I literally said, “Wow,” about halfway through. The ending left me speechless.” —Matthew Quick, New York Times bestselling author of The Silver Linings Playbook and Dad, Love, Me
"One of the most original, riveting and moving books I’ve read in a long while." —Graeme Simsion, New York Times bestselling author of The Rosie Project
“Tender, philosophical, and quietly hopeful, Reeves’ novel is a moving meditation on grief, love, and the fleeting beauty of being alive.”—Debutiful
"Be prepared to reflect on what makes a well-lived life and to shed some tears before sending a copy to a friend. A good suggestion for fans of Matt Haig, Gabrielle Zevin, or Marcus Zusak." —Booklist, starred review
“A gorgeous, transcendent novel… Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt is a balm, a salve, a gift. And perhaps, most potently of all, it is an urgent reminder to do the thing that you will wish on your deathbed you could have done one last time.”—BookReporter
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Book Cover Image (jpg): Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt
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Author Photo (jpg): Ben Reeves Photograph by TK(0.1 MB)
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