Everything Was Beautiful And Nothing Hurt by Ben Reeves
Publisher: Avid Reader Press
Publication Date: July 7, 2026
Format: Hardcover - 256 pages
Audiobook - 7 Hours 37 Minutes
Kindle - 256 pages
Nook - 256 pages
ISBN (Hardcover): 978-1668216361
ASIN (Audiobook): B0FY3G8L1D
ASIN (Kindle): B0FX5SCD9B
BNID (Book): 978-1668216385
Genre: Literary Fiction
Buy The Book:
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of the book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. I also purchased a hardcover copy from my Book Of The Month (BOTM) monthly subscription.
Book Description:
Travis is Death in the modern world. He wears jeans and a T-shirt and lives in a small, grey town. His job is to offer people comfort in their final hours of life. He’s stoic, gentle, and a little naive, despite everything he knows. He’s young and handsome, despite who he is. Each death he witnesses is meaningful to him; he listens, never judges, and most importantly, never tries to change anyone’s fate. He knows that every life must eventually end to maintain the balance of the universe and he respects the cycle.
Then he meets Dalia, a midwife, and her boisterous eight-year-old daughter Layla, who live across the hall. As Dalia and Layla come to embrace Travis, it becomes more difficult to maintain the detachment that’s allowed him to function for so long. Their time together teaches him what’s truly important in life—and what might be irrevocably lost in death.
Written with radiant warmth, wisdom, and compassion, Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt is a timeless story about appreciating life, accepting its end, and finding our place in the universe—especially when it feels most impossible—that will resonate with anyone who has ever loved and lost or worried at time’s passing.
My Book Review:
Every once in a while, an author comes along who writes novels that are so powerfully compelling and thought provoking that they stir the soul. For me, that author is Ben Reeves and his debut novel, Everything Was Beautiful And Nothing Hurt.
Everything Was Beautiful And Nothing Hurt is a beautifully written story that engages the reader to follow Travis's (Death) story as he does his job to offer people comfort in their final hours of life. Travis wanders the world watching people throughout their entire lives and visits them when it's their time to die.
Everything Was Beautiful And Nothing Hurt is an intensely powerful, sobering and thought-provoking story. The message the story relays to the reader is to appreciate life and accept its end. This story stirred my soul from the beginning as I delved into Travis's lonely and isolated life as Death, yet his compassion towards people was simply beautiful.
The reader will be easily drawn into this thought-provoking story. You can't help but experience the full gamut of emotions as Travis visits thirteen people, holds their hands and guides them on their last hours of life. From a five-month-old baby boy to the ninety-year-old woman, each story was heartbreakingly beautiful, and it really made me think about my own life, and how we all need to appreciate our lives and not take it for granted.
Everything Was Beautiful And Nothing Hurt is a powerful and compelling story written with thoughtfulness. It is a must read that will make you ponder and appreciate life.
RATING: 5 STARS 
About The Author
Ben Reeves lives in Peterborough, England. After twenty years of writing, his debut novel Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt became an instant New York Times bestseller and has been optioned for film by Big Beach. When he's not writing, he spends time with his wife and two children and generally makes a creative mess wherever he goes.
