One Night Two Souls Went Walking
Coffee House Press
Fall 2020
“I believe in expecting light. That’s my job.”
A hospital chaplain offers compassion to her patients over the course of an eventful night shift, and finds some for herself, too.
The young interfaith chaplain is joined on her hospital rounds one night by an unusual companion: a rough-and-tumble dog who may or may not be a ghost. As she tends to the souls of her patients—young and old, living last moments or navigating fundamentally altered lives—their stories provide unexpected healing for her own heartbreak.
Balancing wonder and mystery with pragmatism and humor, Ellen Cooney has written a generous, intelligent novel that grants the most challenging moments of the human experience a shimmer of light and magical possibility.
Audio book now available!
Praise & Reviews
NPR, Best Books of 2020
Newsweek, Must-Read Fall Books
Kirkus, Best Fiction of 2020
Bustle, Best Books of Fall 2020
The Millions, Most Anticipated: Fall 2020
Writer’s Voice, Book Pick, December 2020
“Shimmering, remarkable…a triumph of a novel.” —NPR
“Filled with characters who are rich with stories and eager to tell them…a wonderful and memorable novel that lingers long and deep in the mind of readers.” —Minneapolis Star Tribune
“Cooney’s warm and hopeful novel is a salve for these times.” —Newsweek
“The perfect novel to combat pandemic angst.” —Starred review, Kirkus Reviews
“Ellen Cooney’s wise and warm latest novel, One Night Two Souls Went Walking, follows an unnamed 36-year-old chaplain on the night shift at a hospital. It is a book about soul, the “thing that doesn’t have words,” the realest thing in all of us that we struggle to name, but that comes flickering, shining, blazing to life. Cooney, a native of Massachusetts who now lives in midcoast Maine, asks the big questions as her narrator sits bedside to people in the deepest crux moments of their lives. “What to say when there are no words?” Her narrator has doubts, feels lonely in her family, sometimes her “brain turns traitor” and floods her with gruesome, tragic moments from her work; in other words, she is human, which makes it easier for the people she tends to, and us, to trust her. This is a quiet book, steady, gentle, present, one that grapples with the matter-of-fact here and now, and wades, with bravery and wonder, into the mysteries that make us human.” —Boston Globe
“It is quite the achievement for a book to take on themes as huge as humanity, memory and faith while remaining so intimate in tone and scope. For all the theories on the true nature of the soul it poses – and the interesting debates these interpretations are likely to spark – the book remains certain of one thing: what unites us all in death is a desire not to feel alone. Though it may come at great personal cost, it is the gift of companionship the chaplain is determined to give to all those who ask it of her.” —Book Browse Recommends
“Takes place over the course of a night shift at an urban medical center whose cavernous immensity —’steel and glass and stone, lights muted in the deep surround of the dark’ — gives it the feel of a modern-day cathedral…The word ‘soul’ is a frequent presence in this novel, a kind of familiar spirit.” —Wall Street Journal
“An unnamed, 30-something hospital chaplain spends one night performing rounds: comforting patients, offering them grace, and finding connection and healing in the face of great suffering. Now, more than ever, we need to be reminded that hope prevails—and this novel does exactly that.” —The Millions
“Taking place over the course of a single night, Ellen Cooney’s new novel centers on a hospital chaplain bringing comfort and peace to patients of all ages and backgrounds. Joined by a dog who might not be alive, she listens to the stories that emerge in each hospital room, bringing with them ruminations on the nature of human life and death.” —Bustle
“Many novels aim for the soul or search for the meaning of life, but Ellen Cooney’s poetic 10th novel gets to the heart of the matter with more candor and wit than most… Cooney’s novel expands the concept of what’s possible, imagining hope where there is none and pointing always toward the light.” —Starred review, Book Page
“Thoughtful, beautiful… A story that reveals rare moments of light and connection, making One Night Two Souls Went Walking a meaningful novel that centers hope and peace, even in the face of profound struggles.” —Foreword Magazine
“Cooney’s uplifting novel captures extraordinary moments of sadness, pain, and grace as one woman brings light to life’s darkest moments.” —Publishers Weekly
“A poetic story of wandering souls, filled with the beauty of human encounters and the sorrows of departure.” —Dorthe Nors
“It’s the very rare book that pierces both spirit and sense of humor. One Night Two Souls Went Walking wrapped me in its warm wisdom from the start. Reading it was like reading a Mary Oliver poem or Marilynne Robinson novel—radiant, humane, splendidly joyous.” —Alyson Hagy
“Whenever I read Ellen Cooney, I feel like I am in the presence of a cunning medium—an unwavering mind reader of memories, dreams. One Night Two Souls Went Walking has the familiarity of old fairy-tale books, the steadiness of Tove Jansson, the abstraction of Silvina Ocampo, and something entirely new. A lovely and grave novel.” —Kate Bernheimer