One Night Two Souls Went Walking

A novel by Ellen Cooney

November 10, 2020 • 5.5 x 8.25 • 216 pages • 978-1-56689-597-2

 

“I believe in expecting light. That’s my job.” A hospital chaplain offers compassion to her patients over the course of one eventful night shift, and finds some for herself, too.

A young interfaith chaplain is joined on her hospital rounds one night by an unusual companion: a rough-and-ready dog who may or may not be a ghost. As she tends to the souls of her patients—young and old, living last moments or navigating fundamentally altered lives—their stories provide unexpected healing for her own heartbreak. Balancing wonder and mystery with pragmatism and humor, Ellen Cooney (The Mountaintop School for Dogs and Other Second Chances) returns to Coffee House Press with a generous, intelligent novel that grants the most challenging moments of the human experience a shimmer of light and magical possibility.

About the Author

 

Ellen Cooney is the author of nine previous novels, including The Mountaintop School for Dogs and Other Second Chances (Mariner Books, 2015). Her stories have appeared in the New Yorker, Ontario Review, New England Review, and many other journals, and were listed several times in Best American Short Stories. She has received fellowships from the National Foundation for the Arts and the Massachusetts Artists Foundation, and has taught creative writing at Boston College, the Harvard Extension School, and most recently as Writer in Residence at MIT. A native of Massachusetts, she lives on the Phippsburg Peninsula in mid-coast Maine.

Praise for One Night Two Souls Went Walking

NPR, “Favorite Books of 2020”
Newsweek, “Must-Read Fall Books”
Kirkus, “Best Fiction of 2020”
Bustle, “Best Books of Fall 2020”
The Millions, “Most Anticipated: Fall 2020”

“Shimmering, remarkable. . . . A triumph of a novel, and one that arrives at the perfect time.” —Michael Schaub, NPR

“Cooney's warm and hopeful novel is a salve for these times.” —Juliana Rose Pignataro, Newsweek

“[F]illed with characters who are rich with stories and eager to tell them. . . . a wonderful and memorable novel that lingers long and deep in the mind of readers, making us reconsider our concepts of faith, kindness, and what exactly a soul is, anyway.” —Jim Carmin, Star Tribune

“Wise and warm. . . . This is a quiet book, steady, gentle, present, one that grapples with the matter-of-fact here and now, and wades, with bravery and wonder, into the mysteries that make us human.” —Nina MacLaughlin, The Boston Globe

“Cooney does a remarkable job structuring a novel of vignettes and stories within stories into a cohesive whole. Equally remarkable is her portrait of the chaplain as a personification of the potential for human goodness. . . . The perfect novel to combat pandemic angst. ” —Kirkus, starred review

“Many novels aim for the soul or search for the meaning of life, but Ellen Cooney’s poetic 10th novel gets to the heart of the matter with more informal candor and wit than most. . . .Cooney’s novel expands the concept of what’s possible, imagining hope where there is none and pointing always toward the light.” —Mari Carlson, BookPage, starred review

“Takes place over the course of a night shift at an urban medical center whose cavernous immensity—‘steel and glass and stone, lights muted in the deep surround of the dark’—gives it the feel of a modern-day cathedral. . . . The word ‘soul’ is a frequent presence in this novel, a kind of familiar spirit.” —Sam Sacks, The Wall Street Journal

“A novel to sink into, one that’s not comforting so much as it makes us feel and think about being in the world, about things like solace, and heartbreak and souls.” —Deborah Dundas, Toronto Star

“Now, more than ever, we need to be reminded that hope prevails—and this novel does exactly that.” —Carolyn Quimby, The Millions

“Illuminating. . . . A memorable collage of souls in need. Cooney’s uplifting novel captures extraordinary moments of sadness, pain, and grace, as one woman brings light to life’s darkest moments.” —Publishers Weekly

“Ellen Cooney's new novel centers on a hospital chaplain bringing comfort and peace to patients of all ages and backgrounds. . . . she listens to the stories that emerge in each hospital room, bringing with them ruminations on the nature of human life and death.” —K. W. Colyard, Bustle

“In Ellen Cooney’s thoughtful, beautiful novel One Night Two Souls Went Walking, the traumas of a hospital’s patients become a way to think about the concept of souls. . . . [T]heir experiences, coupled with the chaplain’s memories, result in a cohesive, thought-provoking story that reveals rare moments of light and connection, making One Night Two Souls Went Walking a meaningful novel that centers hope and peace, even in the face of profound struggles.” —Catherine Thureson, Foreword Reviews

“A poetic story of wandering souls, filled with the beauty of human encounters and the sorrows of departure.” —Dorthe Nors

“Whenever I read Ellen Cooney, I feel like I am in the presence of a cunning medium—an unwavering mind reader of memories, dreams. One Night Two Souls Went Walking has the familiarity of old fairy-tale books, the steadiness of Tove Jansson, the abstraction of Silvina Ocampo, and something entirely new. A lovely and grave novel.” —Kate Bernheimer

“It’s the very rare book that pierces both spirit and sense of humor. One Night Two Souls Went Walking wrapped me in its warm wisdom from the start. Reading it was like reading a Mary Oliver poem or Marilynne Robinson novel—radiant, humane, splendidly joyous.” —Alyson Hagy, author of Scribe

Praise for The Mountaintop School for Dogs and Other Second Chances

New and Noteworthy from USA Today
A Best New Book of the Week from People

“This book will grab your heart and not let go.” —John Grogan, author of Marley & Me

“A wise, engaging meditation on dogs, love, and recovery from pain. Come. Sit. Read!” —Lily King, author of Euphoria and The Pleasing Hour

Praise for Ellen Cooney

“This remarkably talented author writes in a refined, understated prose.” —New York Times Book Review 

“A writer with style and heart.” —O, The Oprah Magazine

“Ellen Cooney has a talent for creating fine, quirky characters.” —Washington Post

“Ellen Cooney’s laser-bright writing, zany sense of humor and unerring ear for dialogue cannot be praised highly enough.” —Mademoiselle

“Cooney writes with light grace.” —Boston Globe