The Goodbye Process

Book excerpt: “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 her stunning debut short story collection, The Goodbye Process, 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—will push you out of your comfort zone and ignite intense emotions surrounding love and loss. A woman camps out on the porch of an ex-lover who has barricaded himself inside the house; a preteen girl caught shoplifting finds herself in grave danger; a Los Angeles real estate agent falls for a woman who helps him detach from years of dramatic plastic surgery; a man hires a professional mourner to ensure his wife’s funeral is a success. Again and again, Jones’s characters find themselves facing the ends of things: relationships, health, and innocence. Arresting, original, and beautifully rendered, this story collection packs a punch, just the way grief does―knocking us off our feet.