As someone with anxiety and depression, I found this book extremely relatable and interesting. The storyline is authentic and something fresh and different from my normal read. Very well written and thought provoking book, but could be triggering for some. So definitely look at content warnings first. This book may not be for everyone, and may need to be read at the right time!

This book is honestly one of the best depictions of mental illness I have ever come across. It’s funny and yet completely honest and I’m so grateful to feel as if I have seen myself in the main character.

This was a lovely book that I read at the wrong time. For those of us that are anxious, and particularly pandemic anxious, I recommend waiting.

Otherwise, this is an excellent, engaging story that I grew to love.

This is one of those stories I didn’t love or hate. I wouldn’t read it again, but I did like Gilda. She had a very dark humor to her but at times this book was quite depressing. She reminded me of Eleanor Oliphant

Thank you to Evernight Publishing and NetGalley for the arc in return for my honest opinion. This story is told in the first person by Gilda, a gay 27-year-old atheist with depression and anxiety. She can't keep a job, lies to make other people happy, and is obsessed with death. This was an excellent, fast paced read.It is a dry-humored, unapologetically told story about a miserable and anxious twenty-something year old lesbian. Some people might not like it but I really enjoyed the characters and writing style. This also was my first book read by Emily Austin.

I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

Thanks to Netgalley and Atria books for allowing me an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
I heard a lot of great things about this book before starting it, and it didn't disappoint. Although I am much older than the Gilda, I could still identify with her sense of anxiety and dread. The feeling of being a new adult and trying to navigate your way through the world. While these themes can sometimes annoy me, I didn't feel that way with this novel.
There is also a slight mystery involved in the plot, but it lent itself more to the themes of relationships and adulthood as opposed to a strong mystery element.
I would definitely recommend this book.

Too dark, not enough laughs. I got through about 60% of it. It was well written - someone would definitely like it.

I thought this would be darkly humorous and instead it was just dark without many laughs. I’m already depressed enough no need to read something so bleak

Glinda is a depressed, twenty something. She has a lot of issues, and is currently unemployed. So when she happens upon a church that is hiring (she was intending to go to a support group) she happened into a secretarial job at the the Catholic Church. Their secretary had passed away, and they were looking for a new one. Never mind that Glinda is a lesbian and an atheist. She takes the job, and starts her pretending to be someone she is not.

This book is told in Glinda's voice. She has issues with her parents and is concerned with her brother's drinking. She is in an unfulfilled relationship with her girlfriend, and she just doesn't seem happy. As the book goes on, we discover that she has clinical depression, and that she likely does some of her "odder" behaviors due to her mental illness.

Overall, I enjoyed Glinda's voice, but this book was really unique. It was hard to get into the flow initially, but when I did, I really liked it. Because it was told by only Glinda, you didn't get anyone else's perspective, and really this is a story about her. While I liked her voice, I didn't love Glinda's character. As a mentally healthy, non-lesbian Glinda and I didn't have much in common with each other. While it was a somewhat enjoyable book, it was not one that I would highly recommend.

Thank you to the Author, publisher and Net Galley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is my kind of book! Loved the wit and the intertwining of Catholicism in this one. Bravo! 5 stars!

Everyone in This Room WIll Someday Be Dead has such a strong literary voice. It is very beautifully written. As a Catholic, I get nervous when the church is brought up and a focus in books, and for the most part everything was done tastefully. There is another direction I wish the book would have gone, but all in all it was an enjoyable read.

[REVIEW: Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily Austin]

Thank you to @Netgalley for this ARC — opinions are my own.

On the surface: this is a story of a 27 year old lesbian female who mistakenly accepts a job interview at church she stumbles into while seeking group therapy.

Under the surface: is an almost stream of consciousness spilling of anxieties and her rumination of the crisis that is life. She stumbles through her day to day: adding dirty dishes to the tower in the sink, hiding her Atheism and sexuality from her new employer, avoiding the ER for yet another panic attack and feeling boundless, bottomless empathy for every human and creature who crosses her path.

So many times my love of music crosses over into the book I’m reading and this sort of felt like Phoebe Bridgers lyrics set to story. It’s strange and lovely and forces you to reckon with your mortality.

“Jesus Christ, I’m so blue all the time
And that’s just how I feel
I always have and I always will

And last night I blacked out in my car
And I woke up in my childhood bed
Wishing I was someone else, feeling sorry for myself…”

TW: depression, mental health issues including self-harm, suicidal thoughts and panic attacks, alcoholism/drinking and driving, death of a pet

Gilda does not enjoy her life. She's a 20-something lesbian who is at least a bit obsessed with death. When she accidentally finds herself working as a secretary at a local Catholic Church, she has to hide who she really is from the priest and parishioners. She tries to form herself into the image of the perfect young Catholic lady. In the meantime, she gets set up with the son of a woman from the church while also trying to develop a relationship with a woman she really likes. She also fields regular emails from the friend of the now-departed woman who formerly had her job.

Gilda's life is a mess, and she thinks about death a lot. This novel was entertaining and a relatively quick read. While I didn't understand Gilda's motivations, I could empathize with her. It was all more than a touch farcical but was overall a light-hearted read that I enjoyed.

I found myself laughing out loud reading Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily R. Austin. The story follows self-acclaimed lesbian atheist Gilda as she accidentally falls into a job as a receptionist in a Catholic church. Struggling with anxiety, depression and an obsession with the impermanence of everything, Gilda is a hot mess of a human you can’t help by adore. You want to cringe, cry, laugh and look away from the situations she gets herself in. It’s like watching a car wreck and you just can’t pull yourself to look away. Although the story was often bleak and unsettling at times, I found myself rooting for Gilda to get herself in order. I enjoyed the cast of characters, and being a former church assistant myself, I found some of the more religious rituals entertaining to read. Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books and Emily R Austin for an advanced reader copy.

This was an interesting read. Gilda struggles with her mental health and with finding her place in the world. Her journey is not easy, it's not easy to come to terms with your issues while trying to navigate different relationships while trying to figure herself out.

A story about a lesbian atheist named Gilda struggling with depression and anxiety and obsessed with the impermanence of everything, who accidentally falls into a job as a Catholic Church receptionist and is assumed straight without correcting anyone because it’s nearly impossible for to not people please- felt so validating and comforting. The subject matter isn’t light but Gilda’s story is told with so much wit and dark humor I was genuinely smiling throughout the entire book.

I dont know what i was expecting from this one, but it kind of didnt hit for me which is okay. the title definitely pulled me in. but it just wasnt or me.

I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was suggested for the 2022 list. It was not nominated for the award. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2022/01/readers-advisory-announce-2022-reading-list-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">

Gilda is not well. She is anxious and depressed, and usually thinking about death. The local ER staff knows her by name since she frequently goes there, thinking that she is dying. Her relationships with her family and girlfriend are strained. When she sees a flyer for mental health support, she gathers the courage to attend a group at a local church. Instead, she finds a friendly priest who assumes she is applying for the job of church receptionist. Gilda soon finds herself trying to keep too many lies straight--not only is she pretending that she is a straight, Catholic woman who is qualified for this job, she is also keeping up an email correspondence with a friend of her dead predecessor Grace while pretending to be Grace herself.

Reading Everyone In This Room Will Someday Be Dead is somewhat like watching a horror movie--every few minutes, you want to call out, "No! Don't do that. That is a terrible choice." Yet Gilda persists in lying to everyone around her, even herself. It's not malicious; it's just that Gilda can't see what the good choices might be. I think this book will ring true for many people who struggle with their mental health. It's hard to put this one down, as readers hope that this will be the moment that Gilda gets some help and is finally able to see that there is good in life, even if everyone in the room will indeed be dead someday.

Everyone In This Room Will Someday Be Dead
By Emily R. Austin
Atria Books July 2021
226 pages
Read via Netgalley