It's January 2020, and Miriam is already getting a sense that the world might be ending. First, her best friend Esther dies. Then her faith follows. Her job teaching Scripture suddenly seems untenable, so she quits — and joins the postal service just as the city shuts down. Walking her route through an eerily empty San Francisco, Miriam writes letters to Esther she will never deliver, addressing them to Esther's childhood home and marking them dec. — short for "deceased." A quietly hopeful meditation on grief, friendship, and the unexpected grace of work.
"A surprising and evocative debut — a deeply moving meditation on grief, isolation, and beauty found in mundane places."
Grace D. Li, New York Times bestselling author"Gentle and meticulously observant. A quietly hopeful depiction of the bumpy process of recovery from loss."
Kirkus Reviews"Striking and understated. Hwang delivers glimmering insights into the nature of grief. This leaves a mark."
Publishers Weekly"Achingly gorgeous and quietly devastating — a work of genius about the collision of grief and faith and a love letter to community. Rarely have I felt so much while reading a book."
Ling Ling Huang, Lambda Literary Award winner"With astonishing dynamism and empathy, Hwang paints a moving flash memory about the earliest days of the pandemic, imbued with the sometimes subtle, sometimes overwhelming grief of pain that can't be fully understood."
Jinwoo Chong, author of Flux"Remarkably assured. Hwang doesn't put a word wrong. I look forward to reading what she conjures next."
Brian Tanguay, California Review of Books"A tender exploration of grief firmly seated in a gritty portrayal of working-class life, centered on the power and importance of female friendship."
Broad Street ReviewJ.B. Hwang received her MFA in Fiction from the University of Florida. She lived in San Francisco for eight years, and during the pandemic worked as a mail carrier — an experience that became the living heart of her debut novel, Mendell Station.
Her short fiction and translation have appeared in The Temz Review, The Denver Quarterly, Oxford Magazine, and december magazine. She currently lives in Philadelphia.
Best Book of July 2025 — Los Angeles Times
Best Book of July 2025 — Alta Journal
Indies Introduce Selection — American Booksellers Association
For inquiries, please contact Jin Auh at The Wylie Agency.
jauh@wylieagency.com