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When Rachel’s baby is stillborn, she becomes obsessed with the idea that saving a stranger’s life months earlier is to blame. An unforgettable, heart-wrenching, warm and funny debut Emotionally engaging, witty, clever and wonderfully satisfyingDaily Express A stunning debut a wise, moving, and thought-provoking novelSusan Elliot Wright, author of The Flight of Cornelia Blackwood A heartbreaking, deeply moving and wonderfully witty tale, which celebrates all it means to be human Isabelle Broom, author of The Getaway Mum-to-be Rachel did everything right, but it all went wrong. Her son, Luke, was stillborn and she finds herself on maternity leave without a baby, trying to make sense of her loss. When a misguided well-wisher tells her that everything happens for a reason, she becomes obsessed with finding that reason, driven by grief and convinced that she is somehow to blame. She remembers that on the day she discovered her pregnancy, shed stopped a man from jumping in front of a train, and shes now certain that saving his life cost her the life of her son. Desperate to find him, she enlists an unlikely ally in Lola, an Underground worker, and Lolas seven-year-old daughter, Josephine, and eventually tracks him down, with completely unexpected results… Both a heart-wrenchingly poignant portrait of grief and a gloriously uplifting and disarmingly funny story of a young womans determination,Everything Happens for a Reasonis a bittersweet, life- affirming read and, quite simply, unforgettable. Very few authors can be funny and break your heart at the same time, but Katie Allen is one.Everything Happens for a Reasonis a beautiful novel, bursting with raw emotional honesty and authenticity Gill Paul, author of The Secret Wife So affecting. Profoundly sad. Funny. I just loved itLouise Beech, author of This Is How We Are Human Darkly funny, yet poignant and moving, this is one of those books that gets under your skin. A brutally honest portrayal of grief, Rachel’s quest to find out if everything happens for a reason is both heartbreaking and heartwarming Anna Bell, author of In Case You Missed It Some books teach you, others touch your soul, then there are books like this one that bury deep and create a home in your heart Emma-Claire Wilson, Glass House Magazine A triumph a book of hope and ambition and making sense of the world, a tale of acting spontaneously, living in the moment and throwing caution to the windIsabella May, author of Oh! What a Pavlova You’ll laugh, you’ll cry you’ll finish this book, set it aside and wonder at the honesty, and empathy of this writer Michael J Malone, author of A Song of Isolation An incredibly important and beautifully written book. Bittersweet and brave, it will keep you both laughing and crying until the last page Kate Ford, actress, Coronation Street The perfect mix of clever, funny and intensely moving Cari Rosen, author of The Secret Diary of a New Mum Aged 43 1/4 A heart-wrenching, soul-lifting read about loss and redemption in unlikely placesEve Smith, author of The Waiting Rooms Read it and weep but also, incredibly, find moments to laugh and to know there is life after deathJulia Hobsbawm, author of The Simplicity Principle Beautiful sad, quirky and at times very funnyMadeleine Black, author of Unbroken Allens debut is simultaneously devastating and hilarious. It takes courage to bring out the humour in heartbreak and Allen has courage in spades Clare Allan, author of Poppy Shakespeare A memorable, poetic read … I felt as if I was watching Rachel going off the rails, trying to make sense of her life without her baby, befriending every lost soul on the way and getting so many things horribly wrong. The writing reminded of Eleanor Oliphant an excellent debut novel Becky Fleetwood, author of the Chroma series Quirky yet insightful, bright yet wistful, amusing yet