Life-affirming stories about love.
Life and Other Near-Death Experiences was the #1 Kindle bestseller for three of four weeks the month it was released. It now has over more than 1,500 5-star reviews on Amazon.
Jessica Chastain and Freckle Films recently optioned Life for film.
If your life were upended in a single day, would you have the courage to start over—at any cost?
Libby Miller has always been an unwavering optimist—but when her husband drops a bomb on their marriage hours after a doctor delivers devastating news, she realizes her rose-colored glasses have actually been blinding her.
With nothing left to lose, she abandons her life in Chicago for the clear waters and bright beaches of the Caribbean. Her plans go awry when she finds that she can’t quite outrun the past, or bring herself to face an unknowable future. Every day of bliss is an invitation to disaster, but with her brother on her trail and a new relationship on the horizon, Libby is determined to forget about fate. Will she risk it all to live—and love—a little longer?
Libby’s journey is one of hilarious turns and heartfelt realizations … just the uplifting medicine doctors would order.
—Booklist
More than just a cancer narrative, Life and Other Near Death Experiences is a story about seizing life and ditching what others expect of you. It will make you laugh. It will make you ugly cry. And it will make you want to live your own life to its greatest potential.
—HelloGiggles
Camille Pagán’s Life and Other Near-Death Experiences is anything but formulaic: it’s unceasingly delightful, and Libby Miller is a sensitive, super-smart Everywoman hero you’ll come to adore.
—Bustle
Tackling two serious topics with grace and humor, Ms. Pagán has delivered a novel full of rich characters and a quick-paced story line…This story is an easy read about uneasy topics, something hard to accomplish but that Ms. Pagán does wonderfully.
—Manhattan Book Review
—Have you ever started to read a book, and from the first few pages you could tell it was going to hook you? That was this book for me.
—Can’t remember the last time I read a book and went through so many emotions.
—Having lost four family members recently to cancer, I hesitated to choose this book. However, having recently been diagnosed with cancer myself, I wanted to see if my response was anything like hers. It makes you feel less alone to know someone else feels the same way. This was a wonderful thought-provoking book that everyone should read.
—Libby has her world turned upside down in one horrible day. Her reaction is irrational, emotional and a bit crazy—spot on in my opinion. This book is about the improbability of life and how we react to devastating situations.
—I hoped for a good read and got much more.
—If you’ve ever lost someone to cancer or know someone with it, this is a must read if only for the parts when Libby tells us how she feels about the platitudes that come out of our mouths when confronted with someone that has it. Very moving, funny and heart-warming.
—Excellent, excellent book that I read from start to finish within 24 hours. Long time since I’ve done that. This book dealt with today’s harsh realities but also had a bit of romance. Absolutely loved it! As a three-time cancer survivor, I appreciated the direct (non-syrupy) way cancer and also the upheaval of divorce was dealt with. And also how life goes on!