Book Description
A darkly humorous yet uplifting novel about a grieving mother who starts working at a funeral home and discovers that the best way to honor the dead is to live—from the author of the “insightful, moving” (Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times bestselling author) Sunshine Nails.

All Cleo Dang has ever wanted is to be a mother. The day she discovers she’s pregnant is the happiest of her life, especially when she learns that her best friend, Paloma, is also expecting. It’s a wonderful surprise, and together, they enjoy their pregnancies. But when they both go to the hospital in labor, something goes very, very wrong. Paloma comes home with a baby. Cleo does not.

Ravaged by grief, Cleo must now navigate life after losing her baby. She alienates herself from the world, particularly her best friend, who is living the life she so desperately wanted. Forced to take leave from her demanding job as an actuary, Cleo manages to find work at a funeral home, where she meets a revolving cast of bereaved locals and discovers the power of confronting grief.

Darkly humorous yet uplifting, Cleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead follows a grieving mother who starts working at a funeral home and discovers that the best way to honor the dead is to live.
 
About the Author
Mai Nguyen is a Vietnamese Canadian author whose debut novel, Sunshine Nails, was longlisted for Canada Reads and named one of the best books of 2023 by NPR and CBC. Her journalism has appeared in Wired, The Washington Post, and The Toronto Star. Raised in Halifax, she now lives in Toronto with her husband, daughter, and French bulldog.
 
Reviews
"Mai Nguyen's morbidly funny sophomore novel, Cleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead, explores the raw depths of grief as the title character flounders after her infant daughter's death. Touching and insightful, Nguyen's novel is a moving depiction of motherhood and an honest portrait of grief in its multilayered complexity." —Shelf Awareness

"Nguyen is brilliant in her depiction of the agony of grief as well as its absurdity and surprising capacity for tender connection. An astonishing portrait of grief and an ode to the beauty that manages to live in its midst." —Kirkus, starred review

Nguyen (Sunshine Nails, 2023) writes with raw, unflinching honesty about the agony of losing a child, balancing pathos with dark humor. Cleo's messy, nonlinear, yet ultimately hopeful story of rebuilding proves that while some wounds may never heal, they can be transformed into something unexpectedly profound." —Booklist, starred review

"Cleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead is a deeply compassionate and unexpectedly funny novel about love, loss, and the messy, resilient business of being human. Mai Nguyen always writes with warmth, insight, and emotional precision, and here she finds moments of wit and connection even in the most painful terrain. This is a story that sticks with you—not just for the way it turns sorrow into moments of light, but for its tenderness and humanity." —Marissa Stapley, NYT bestselling author of Lucky

“Cleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead is a window into grief: its ability to make us our worst selves, but also how, over time, it can turn us into a person who sees life for how precious and beautiful and exquisitely improbable it truly is. Nguyen’s writing is open and vulnerable and so very raw. I cried a lot, but I also laughed and was reminded that grief is a journey that never ends but shifts and morphs and should be tended to as long as is needed. It is a testament to the healing power of connection, and I’m so glad this book exists.” —Charlene Carr, author of We Rip the World Apart

“Propulsive and unflinching, Cleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead captures the depth of human loss with the tenacity of life's hopes. When her newborn child dies, Cleo finds herself in an impossible search to make meaning out of tragedy and profound grief. Told with exceptional candor, heartbreak, and humor, Nguyen’s novel evokes a complex spectrum of emotions, causing readers to pause and reflect on their own love, loss, and other life experiences long after reading.” —Ann Y.K. Choi, author of All Things Under the Moon

“It’s rare to read a book knowing that it will stay with you long after it’s finished like this. It had me wiping away tears and laughing within the same page. Mai Nguyen writes about grief with humour, deep insight, and incredible honesty. It’s a beautiful story of a mother’s love, sorrow, joy, and human connection.” —Natalie Sue, bestselling author of I Hope This Finds You Well

"Deeply emotional and unexpectedly funny. Nguyen masterfully balances heartbreaking vulnerability with wit and hopefulness. A truly beautiful novel and window into a mom’s profound love for her baby." —Emily Austin, bestselling author of We Could Be Rats