Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead is a life-affirming gut punch of a novel by Emily Austin. The novel follows protagonist Gilda, a queer woman in her late twenties, as she navigates life with anxiety and depression. Although the title sounds a bit bleak, the premise—and the overarching tone of the novel—is hilarious: Gilda, following a flyer advertising free therapy, finds herself at a Catholic church, and accidentally accepts a job as the church’s new receptionist. Not Catholic and not straight, Gilda knows she’s not the applicant they’re looking for, but she’s badly in need of a job; plus, Father Jeff is so thrilled she knows how to use the Internet that she doesn’t have the heart to tell him the truth. So now, on top of managing her intrusive thoughts about death, helping her possibly alcoholic brother and avoidant parents, and pushing herself—against every bodily instinct—to get out of bed and do the dishes and text her girlfriend back, Gilda has to hide her true self at work everyday. Luckily, the employees at St. Rigobert’s are of the sweet, bumbling variety, and they help her realize her own potential in roundabout ways. As Gilda settles into this unexpected soft landing place, she begins to grow in confidence, and in a wild twist, undertakes an amateur investigation into the previous receptionist’s possible murder.

Bighearted, existential, and filled to the brim with deadpan humor, Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead is a delightful surprise. In the first few pages, Gilda gets in a car accident, breaks her arm, watches the apartment building next to hers catch fire, and unsuccessfully searches for a lost cat; it’s all pretty intense, and yet I kept laughing because Gilda’s voice is so funny and so honest. And that, in a nutshell, is the entire book. Austin combines darkness and light, sadness and sweetness to beautiful effect, and through Gilda, expertly captures the feeling of being at once terrified of the world and enamored by it. I fell in love with Gilda from the start, and despite the many moments I wanted to reach through the pages to either hug her or yell at her, I was ready to follow her anywhere (and she gets into some pretty absurd situations); she is the epitome of a memorable heroine. If you’re looking for a reminder that the world is actually a good place, Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead is it—highly recommend.

I’d recommend this book to…

• Anyone interested in mental health and adult coming-of-age stories… it’s similar in theme to Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason
• Anyone looking for something existential yet uplifting… it’s similar in tone to Midnight Library by Matt Haig
• Anyone who loves a protagonist with a unique, sometimes startling way of thinking… it’s similar in tone to Joan is Okay by Weike Wang