everything here is beautiful
Two sisters: Miranda, the older, responsible one, always her younger sister’s protector; Lucia, the vibrant, headstrong, unconventional one, whose impulses are huge and, often, life changing. When their mother dies and Lucia starts to hear voices, it’s Miranda who must fight for the help her sister needs — even as Lucia refuses to be defined by any doctor’s diagnosis. Determined, impetuous, she plows ahead, marrying a big-hearted Israeli only to leave him, suddenly, to have a baby with a young Latino immigrant. She will move with her new family to Ecuador, but the bitter constant remains: she cannot escape her own mental illness. Lucia lives life on a grand scale, until inevitably, she crashes to earth. And then Miranda must decide, again, whether or not to step in — but this time, Lucia may not want to be saved. The bonds of sisterly devotion stretch across oceans, but what does it take to break them?
Told from multiple perspectives, Everything Here Is Beautiful is, at its core, a heart-wrenching family drama about relationships and tough choices — how much we’re willing to sacrifice for the ones we love, and when it’s time to let go and save ourselves.
Published by Pamela Dorman Books (Viking/Penguin, Jan 2018).
Reading Guide for Book Clubs
press
BEST OF 2018
Amazon: Top 20 Best Literature/Fiction of 2018
Goodreads Choice Awards: Nominee, Best Debut Author of 2018; Nominee, Best Fiction of 2018
O, The Oprah Magazine: Our 15 Favorite Books of 2018
“So many of Lee’s sentences cry out to be underlined, reread, shared…”
Real Simple: The Best Books of 2018
“This gorgeous yet heartbreaking debut follows Miranda’s and Lucia’s lives after their mother’s death and sheds light on the sacrifices people make for loved ones with mental illness.”
Reader’s Digest: 12 Best Audiobooks of 2018
Chicago Public Library: CPL Best of the Best Books 2018
Book Depository: Best Fiction of 2018
Winner, 2018 Whirling Prize
Honoree, 2018 Massachusetts Book Award
BEST OF DEBUTS
American Booksellers Association (ABA) selects Everything Here Is Beautiful for its Indies Introduce program, as one of their Top 10 Debuts for Winter/Spring 2018.
Bustle: 31 Debut Novels from 2018 That You Seriously Shouldn’t Miss
35 Over 35: The “35 Over 35” Award Celebrates The Best Debut Books Written By Authors Over A Certain Age
GoodReads: 24 of the season’s highest rated debuts
Publishers Marketplace selects Everything Here Is Beautiful as one of its Fall/Winter 2017 Buzz Books.
MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS
BuzzFeed: These New Novels Face The Complicated Reality Of Mental Illness
The Rumpus: What To Read When It’s Mental Health Month
The Strand Bookstore: Must-Reads for Mental Health Awareness Month
Bustle: 10 New Books About Mental Illness To Read in 2018
Hello Giggles: 10 Books That Will Change Your Perspective On Mental Health
TalkSpace: 7 Insightful Mental Health-Themed Books to Read This Summer
Video Wiki: 10 Spectacular Books About Sisters
Bustle: After Watching ‘My Brilliant Friend’ On HBO, Read These 15 Books
Poets & Writers: Page One: Where New and Noteworthy Books Begin
New York: Twenty-Five Things to See, Hear, Watch, and Read
Medium: 58 Books By Women Of Color For You To Choose From for Women’s History Month
Electric Lit: 46 Books By Women of Color to Read in 2018
Vulture: 8 New Books You Need to Read This January
Cosmopolitan: 33 Books to Get Excited About in 2018
New York Post: This Week’s Must-Read Books
Bustle: 19 Debut Novels Coming Out In 2018 That You Definitely Won’t Want To Miss
Bitch Media: Bitchreads: 25 Fiction Books You Must Read in 2018
Autostraddle: 65 Queer and Feminist Books To Read In 2018
The Seattle Times: Books to Look Forward to in 2018
Refinery 29: Get Ready, Because Our 2018 Reading List Is Already LIT
Elle: 19 of the Best Books to Read This Winter
The Everygirl:10 HIghly Anticipated Books Coming Out This Winter
Apartment Therapy: 9 Buzzed-About Authors You’ll Want to Know Before Your Friends Do
Brit + Co: 16 of the Most Anticipated Books of 2018
Book Riot: 101 Books Coming Out in 2018 That You Should Mark Down Now
Pure Wow: 20 Books We Can’t Wait to Read in 2018
The Fold: Must-Reads For Your Holiday Break
BuzzFeed: How Many Of Our Favorite 2018 Books Have You Read So Far?
reviews
“Lucia’s fierce passions—for New York City; for her sister and their dying Chinese immigrant mother; for the men she loves; for her daughter, Esperanza; for the Peking duck and spareribs she was raised on—are impossible for anyone, least of all the reader, to resist… There’s not a false note to be found, and everywhere there are nuggets to savor.”
– O, The Oprah Magazine (read review)
“We are all at the mercy of the people we love, whatever misfortunes they meet or bring upon themselves… That’s the power of family, awful and wonderful, and this power ripples through the pages of Mira T. Lee’s extraordinary debut novel… If you love anyone at all, this book is going to get you.”
– USA Today (read review)
“Over and over in this exquisite novel, we see the rubble that mental illness can leave in its wake… beautifully written… Lee’s portrait of schizophrenia is compassionate and harrowing… With expert grace and compassion, Lee moves her cast of characters through the years…”
– The Boston Globe (read review)
“In shimmering prose, Lee nimbly unfurls a story that slithers like a serpent back and forth through time and across the threshold between what is perceived and what is real, producing a nuanced view of a complex woman and what it means to love her… This electrifying first novel is wistful, wise and utterly unforgettable.”
– BookPage (read review)
“It’s to Lee’s credit that she divides her sympathies between Lucia and those who care about her. Yes, her book is about the bond between two sisters, as indicated on its cover. But its real achievement goes beyond that relationship and depicts the way mental illness shapes family dynamics no matter how that bond is formed.”
– The Seattle Times (read review)
“This novel could have been another assembly-line debut in a publishing landscape full of them, and instead, it feels like something truly original. Mira T. Lee’s voice is not reassuring or simple; it is alive, worthy of pursuit and concentration… The unlikeliness of the novel’s events, each one presented with supreme authorial confidence, recalls Ann Patchett, except the style is jolted upward by several thousand volts. Everything Here is Beautiful is a novel to savor, and Mira T. Lee is a novelist to watch.”
– The Masters Review (read review)
“Lee excels at representing the painful, all-encompassing effects of serious mental illness on a family.”
– The Improper Bostonian (read review)
“[A] tender, beautifully written novel.”
– Washington Independent Review of Books
The Wall Street Journal: Six More Books to Read This Winter
“This debut novel is rooted in the relationship between two sisters, exploring the way love turns into duty when mental illness strikes in a family.”
Entertainment Weekly: 10 brilliant new authors to know for International Women’s Day
“A bold debut… Lee sensitively relays experiences of immigration and mental illness…a distinct literary voice.”
Shondaland: What To Read This Week
“Mira T. Lee’s debut novel is so raw and acutely human, it’s the kind of book you want to get lost in and just go along for the emotional ride… It’s a thoughtful and beautifully crafted book, both inside and out, and one you’ll feel proud kicking off the New Year having read.”
Chicago Review of Books: The Most Anticipated Fiction Books of 2018
“This elegant debut is about the enduring bond of family and a delicately drawn portrayal of mental illness.”
Marie Claire: What We’re Reading
“Lee’s debut is a profoundly relatable drama about how far you would, or should, go for family.”
Huffington Post: 60 Books We Can’t Wait To Read In 2018
“…a wholly original exploration of sisterly bonds.”
Real Simple: The Short List: Five Books That Won’t Disappoint
“Great for book club.”
BuzzFeed: 9 New Books We Think You’ll Love
“Everything Here Is Beautiful is a stunning story about the far reaches, and breakdowns, of family bonds… Lee writes Lucy with care, nuance, and generosity. In fact, it’s Lucy’s voice which fills this book with life; it’s Lucy’s voice which made me fall in love with this book and then thrust it on my friends and loved ones.”
Bustle: 35 Most Anticipated Fiction Books Of 2018 To Get You Pumped For A New Year Of Reading
“This exquisite book is one that will hurtle past all your expectations.”ee’s prose is economical, sharp, and piercing… How does a family battle with mental illness? In Everything Here is Beautiful, the strategies are neither perfect nor expected nor do they yield the best results. In this manner, Lee has managed to write a book that feels wholly alive.”
– KQED Arts (read review)
PopSugar: The 22 Best New Books of Winter Will Have You Hibernating Over the Holidays
“Deftly dealing with big issues such as mental illness and immigration, this debut is a powerful look at love and family.”
Southern Living: Books Coming Out This Winter That We Can’t Wait To Read
“[An] exciting debut about two sisters… the unpredictable changes of their lives, and the necessary sacrifices and important gifts that sisterhood brings.”
Paste: 10 of the Best Books of January 2018
“A powerful read about sacrifice and love.”
The Millions: Most Anticipated: The Great 2018 Book Preview
“…this novel never flinches.”
BuzzFeed: The 33 Most Exciting Books of 2018
“…an incredibly moving and thoughtful exploration of mental illness and its toll on family and loved ones.”
author praise
“Intelligent, thought-provoking and moving–I loved it. I felt quite bereft on reading its final pages.”
— Paula Hawkins, New York Times bestselling author of The Girl on the Train
“Everything Here Is Beautiful is a tender but unflinching portrayal of the bond between two sisters–one that’s frayed by mental illness and stretched across continents, yet still endures. With ventriloquistic skill, Mira T. Lee explores the heartache of loving someone deeply troubled and the unbearable tightrope-walk between holding on and letting go.”
— Celeste Ng, New York Times bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere and Everything I Never Told You
“Everything Here is Beautiful is a stunning and unforgettable book filled with voices that resonate and haunt. Mira T. Lee has written a story big enough to hold entire worlds, interior and exterior, with authenticity and compassion. At the same time she tells an intimately personal tale about family, self and the risks we take to care for the ones we love.”
— Ruth Ozeki, New York Times bestselling author of A Tale for the Time Being
“Charismatic and electrifying. Lee refuses the simple glamour of madness and makes vivid the actual costs of mental illness, the messiness of life, the way we tie ourselves in knots just trying to do the simplest things: love and be loved in return. A knockout.”
— Rufi Thorpe, author of Dear Fang, With Love and The Girls from Corona del Mar
“This heart-wrenching, delicately drawn novel is filled with family love, passion, pain and forgiveness. Mira T. Lee spins a story spanning oceans that draws us ever closer to her characters’ generous, flawed hearts. Powerful and unforgettable.”
— Jean Kwok, New York Times bestselling author of Mambo in Chinatown and Girl In Translation
“This book took my breath away. Lee has an incredible gift for empathy–I found myself rooting for, and caring deeply about, all of the characters, even when they couldn’t stand each other. I especially commend her nuanced, compassionate depiction of mental illness and how it impacts families. Everything Here Is Beautiful is an insightful, generous celebration of our capacity and complexity as human beings.”
— Mark Lukach, internationally bestselling author of My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward
“Mira T. Lee has crafted an eloquent, vivid story not just of mental illness, but of passionate longing and family love in which there are no perfect choices but always a pulsing light of hope.”
— Lucy Ferriss, bestselling author of A Sister to Honor
“Everything about this book is beautiful. It’s a sisters’ story, an
immigrant story and, more than a story of one family, it’s an
unflinching reflection of the fast-changing American Family.”
— Ron Fournier, New York Times bestselling author of Love That Boy
“Everything Here is Beautiful vividly captures the kaleidoscope of emotional contradictions within our bonds to family and country. Mira T. Lee’s powerful debut crafts an elegiac journey: uplifting, disturbing, and–proving its title–beautiful.”
— Matthew Pearl, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Bookaneer
“Mira T. Lee deeply understands the human need for belonging, and in her compassionate debut, she presents an aching yet hopeful story of characters striving to belong despite vast impediments, and the emotional costs incurred in this quest for a love-filled life.”
— Imbolo Mbue, author of the PEN/Faulkner award-winning Behold the Dreamers
“…a heartfelt story about sisters, family bonds, immigration, love, and an unvarnished look at how mental illnesses impact the lives of the person living with them and those who love and try to understand… In Mira T. Lee, mental health has found a new novelist champion.”
— Pete Earley, New York Times bestselling author of Crazy: A Father’s Search Through America’s Mental Health Madness
“… A luminous testament of loss and reclamation and the painful necessity of love entered the world this week, in the guise of a novel. Everything Here Is Beautiful, by Mira T. Lee, ratifies Tim O’Brien’s mighty affirmation of twenty-eight years ago: But this too is true: stories can save us.”
— Ron Powers, author of No One Cares About Crazy People: The Chaos and Heartbreak of Mental Health in America
“I was steadily drawn into this beautifully-written story of enduring love and family, however family is defined. Mira T. Lee’s characters are captivating and very real, illustrating how intractable mental illness marks everyone in its sphere and renders the quotidian both beautiful and threatening. A compelling read.”
— Daphne Kalotay, bestselling author of Sight Reading
bookseller love
Everything Here Is Beautiful was selected by the American Booksellers Association (ABA) as an Indies Introduce title for Winter/Spring 2018, an Indie Next pick for February 2018, a January 2019 Indie Next List “Now in Paperback” pick, and a 2018-2019 Recommendation for Reading Groups.
“…Everything Here Is Beautiful explores the boundaries of our responsibilities to those we love, and how we might go about honoring someone’s self-determination when that person may not be stable enough to be up to the task. At what point does taking care of someone else cease to serve anyone involved, and how do you know when you’re there? Mira T. Lee’s debut work is necessary — a generous, beautiful, and frank examination of a very difficult subject.”
— Sarah Bumstead, Bookseller, Vroman’s Bookstore (Pasadena, CA)
“…In this debut novel, Lee takes on the subject of mental illness and how loved ones must navigate its unpredictable, destructive path. What elevates Everything Here Is Beautiful from being solely a story about illness is Lee’s beautiful rendering of Lucia and Miranda, first-generation Chinese-American sisters who, after losing their mother, must forge their lives as young women without family guidance or support… Lee’s writing is dynamic, lush, and mesmerizing. I couldn’t put this book down as I rooted for Lucia and Miranda to gain control of their lives and embrace the beauty in this process.”
— Janine De Boisblanc, Bookseller, Orinda Books (Orinda, CA)
“This was a powerhouse of a book. Compulsive reading and wonderfully drawn characters and without a doubt the most inventive narrative I have read in awhile… I will sell this gladly to customers looking for a big book to get lost in.”
— Betty Sudarsky, Bookseller, Wellesley Books (Wellseley, MA)
“Everything Here Is Beautiful is a remarkable debut about two sisters and the strength of their bond. At the heart of this story is Lucia a sister, mother, and woman who struggles with mental illness. Told from alternating points of view, Mira T. Lee gives an honest and emotional look at living with mental illness and its impact on not only your own life but the lives of those you love most. Captivating doesn’t begin to cover this novel. You will find me eagerly waiting on the edge of my seat for the next book by this talented author.”
— Kaitlin Smith, Copperfield’s Books, Sebastopol, CA