Everything Is Beautiful and Everything Hurts

The stunning debut novel by the winner of the Allen & Unwin Commercial Fiction Prize. If you loved Lessons in Chemistry and Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, you will adore Everything Is Beautiful and Everything Hurts.

Mickey Bloom: five foot tall, dyslexic, and bullied at school. Mickey knows she’s nothing special. Until one day, she discovers running.

Mickey’s new-found talent makes her realize she’s everything she thought she wasn’t - powerful, strong and special. But her success comes at a cost, and the relentless training and pressure to win leaves Mickey broken, her dream in tatters.

Years later, when Mickey is working in a dead-end job with a drop-kick boyfriend, her mother becomes seriously ill. After nursing her, Mickey realizes the only way she can overcome her grief - and find herself - is to run again.

A chance encounter with a stranger sees Mickey re-ignite her dreams. The two women form an unbreakable bond, as Mickey is shown what it means to run in the right direction.

An unforgettable debut novel about change, family and grit, and what it takes to achieve your dreams.

Josie Shapiro has a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Auckland, where she was awarded a Wallace Arts Scholarship for her work.

Her writing has appeared in journals and anthologies, and she writes book reviews for New Zealand Listener, the Academy of New Zealand Literature and Ketebooks.co.nz.

She lives with her husband and two daughters in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.