How to Hold Someone In Your Heart

A Novel

Translated by Yuki Tejima

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About The Book

Book Two of the Lost Souls Series

The much-anticipated follow-up novel to the instant national bestseller Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon picks up seven years later with go-between Ayumi, a young man caught between the demands of everyday life and his extraordinary gift: reuniting the living with the dead.

Ayumi has a rare and mysterious ability, inherited from his grandmother. During a full moon and guided by strict rules, he arranges meetings between souls who have passed and those they left behind. However, after years in this role, Ayumi begins to question its meaning and the impact it has had on his life. As he juggles his supernatural calling with his full-time job as a toy designer in Tokyo, Ayumi quietly wonders if he will ever find the peace he so often helps others attain. Meanwhile, he assists five individuals, including: a rising film star who seeks closure with the father who abandoned him; a passionate amateur historian longing to meet a forgotten sixteenth-century warlord; and a former cook whose repeated requests to visit an upper-class woman in the afterlife have been denied—but who refuses to give up on love.

Luminous, magical, and deeply heartwarming, How to Hold Someone in Your Heart is an unforgettable novel from bestselling storyteller Mizuki Tsujimura and a profound meditation on living without regret, embracing the unexpected, and cherishing the fleeting moments we’re given.

About The Author

Photo Credit: ©Yoshihiro Kamiya

Mizuki Tsujimura is a bestselling Japanese author whose books have sold over 10 million copies. Several of her books have been made into high-profile Japanese-language films and manga. Loved by booksellers and readers alike, she has won both the Japan Booksellers’ award and the more literary Naoki Prize.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Scribner (March 17, 2026)
  • Length: 224 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781668099889

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Raves and Reviews

Praise for How to Hold Someone in Your Heart

"A comfort read that soothes the soul and reminds one’s frazzled mind of its beating heart…While there is no confirmed way to meet with the dead in our world, Tsujimura’s novel can provide a sense of catharsis that comes close to the real thing.” —The Daily Californian 

“[A] touching sequel to Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon…tenderly portrayed…Tsujimura wrings emotions from each episode, the significance of which is best summed up by Hachiya, who remarks, ‘It’s a gift to live in the world at the same time as the person you have in your heart.’ Readers of healing fiction will find much to love.”Publishers Weekly  

“Now older and wiser, the go-between continues to reunite the living and dead…a poignant portrayal of death, life, and the magical place where the two overlap. Heartfelt and charming.”Kirkus Reviews

Praise for Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon

One of Vulture's Culturati 50 Best Books of 2025
One of BookRiot’s “11 Most Sensational New Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books of August”
One of Gizmodo’s “80 New Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror Books Arriving in August”
One of Ms. Magazine’s “Best New August Reads”
An AV Club “10 New Books to read in August”


"A fireside tale that looks at how and why the living are haunted by the dead… Tsujimura’s profound insights into ordinary lives and motivations—and how the dead might ease the minds of the living—make this a ghostly little masterpiece.”Wall Street Journal 

“Displaying a matter-of-fact approach to the fantastical that recalls early Haruki Murakami, Tsujimura’s novel is an enchanting read.”—Financial Times

“Tsujimura raises poignant and powerful questions about what the living owe not only the dead, but each other; and how we make peace with others and ourselves in the wake of overwhelming grief. A touching novel about loss with a magical and mystical flourish.”—Kirkus Reviews

“The newest novel by Tsujimura, translated from Japanese, has a clear premise, clear prose, and offers fascinating complexity that unfolds through five, rich chapters.... Readers who enjoy piecing together mysteries and thinking about big questions will love this satisfying tale, with a sequel promised.”—Booklist

“A resonating read…utterly priceless.”—Shelf Awareness

“Delightful.”—AV Club

“A beautifully written novel about hope and kindness.”—The Big Issue 

“I devoured this book. I'm amazed by how gentle and warm it is, and at the same time how it holds such fascinating puzzles and hard truths. All the pieces fit together beautifully.”—Megha Majumdar, New York Times bestselling author of A Burning
 

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More books from this author: Mizuki Tsujimura

More books in this series: A Lost Souls Novel

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