Cleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead
- Judith D Collins
- Oct 1
- 2 min read
By: Mai Nguyen
ISBN: 9781668080863
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication Date: 04/14/2026
Format: Hardcover
My Rating: TBR (ARC)
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 based in Toronto. Her debut novel Sunshine Nails (Atria Books/Simon & Schuster Canada) was longlisted for Canada Reads 2024, and was selected as one of the best books of 2023 by NPR and CBC. Her second book, Cleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead, will be published April 2026.
Her non-fiction writing has appeared in Wired, Washington Post, Marie Claire, Maclean’s, Toronto Star, and more. She has been nominated for a National Magazine Award twice and holds a Bachelor of Journalism from Toronto Metropolitan University.
Born in Winnipeg and raised in Halifax, Mai currently lives in Toronto with her husband, daughter, and French bulldog.
Her name is pronounced like My Nwin. WEBSITE
