"Veronika Decides to Die is Coelho’s most artful work to date The different characters argue sanity and life from varying points of view, pulling the reader into discussion."

--Denever Post

"Coelho does not so much address his readers as confides in them. His style is a kind of eavesdropping, full of lyrical whisperings and confessional asides."

--The Sunday Express (London)

Twenty-four-year-old Veronika seems to have everything-youth and beauty, boyfriends and a loving family, a fulfilling job. But something is missing in her life. So, one cold November morning, she takes a handful of sleeping pills expecting never to wake up. But she does-at a mental hospital where she is told that she has only days to live.

Inspired by events in Coelho’s own life, Veronika Decides to Die questions the meaning of madness and celebrates individuals who do not fit into patterns society considers to be normal. Bold and illuminating, it is a dazzling portrait of a young woman at the crossroads of despair and liberation, and a poetic, exuberant appreciation of each day as a renewed opportunity.