The Goodbye Process: Stories

A National Bestseller!

Longlisted for the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Short Story Collection

Longlisted for THE STORY PRIZE

A Library Journal Best Book of 2024!

A Most Exciting Debut Short Story Collection of 2024 by Electric Literature

“Short story fans might just discover their new favorite author in this arresting collection, a must-have.” —Library Journal (starred review)

What happens when you are forced to let go of the things you love the most? What are you left with?

In this stunning debut short story collection, Mary Jones uses her distinctive voice to examine the painful and sometimes surreal ways we say goodbye. The stories—which range from tender and heartbreaking to unsettling and darkly funny—are connected by the central theme of letting go.

A woman camps out on the porch of an ex-lover who has barricaded himself inside; a preteen girl caught shoplifting lands in grave danger; a man hires a professional mourner to ensure his wife’s funeral is a success. Time and again, Jones’s characters find themselves facing the ends of things: relationships, health, and innocence.

Arresting and original, The Goodbye Process packs a punch, just the way grief does―knocking us off our feet.