Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt by Ben Reeves @authorbenreeves @mikefranklandvo @simon.audio @simonaudio.bsky.social #EverythingWasBeautifulAndNothingHurt

the setup…
To most people, Travis is an ordinary, indistinct man living in a quiet, indistinct English town. He walks through the neighborhood everyday, connecting with strangers and familiar faces alike. See, Travis is Death and appears when someone is nearing the end of their time in this world. He doesn’t look the role, attractive and casually dressed, offering a level of comfort in the process. He’s dispassionate though, always disconnected emotionally. That is until he meets his neighbor Dalia and her two daughters, eight-year old Layla and baby Neda.

the heart of the story…
I went in blind so it took me a moment to catch on to exactly what Travis represented. It may have seemed irrelevant to have experienced so many of Travis’s Death encounters but there was something beautifully poetic about them. However, after a while, I became too emotionally connected, evoking memories of my own recent losses and weighted down by the totality of them.

the narration…
Mike Frankland provided the internal voice of Travis and all in his orbit. He delivered a quiet, understated performance that was fitting for the character and the story. He got under my skin emotionally.

the bottom line…
I was unprepared to get so personally connected as I rarely get triggered by a story. When the second half turned a little darker, it was often difficult for me to continue. I’m glad I did because, as I suspected, there was a bit of lightness ahead. This is a deeply complex debut, unique in its approach to end of life. It will haunt me…forever (in a good way).

Book Info

• Release Date: July 7, 2026
• Narrator: Mike Frankland
• Audio Length: 7 hours, 37 minutes
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

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(Thanks to Simon & Schuster Audio and Libro.fm for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.)