Nobody, Somebody, Anybody: A Novel

It'sMy Year of Rest and Relaxation, but with fewer pills and more boats. Entertainment Weekly

A moving and darkly comic debut novel about an anxious young woman who administers a self-made placebo treatment in a last-ditch attempt to rebuild her life

Amy Hanley has a job as a maid for the summer, but on August 25, she will take the exam to become an EMT (third times the charm!) and finally move on with her life. In the meantime, she doesnt mind scrubbing toilets immaculately clean or tucking the sheet corners just so. In fact, she tells herself that her work is a noble act of service to the rich guests at the yacht club.

Amys profound isolation colors everything: her job, her aspirations, even her interactions with the woman at the deli counter. And as the date for the EMT exam comes closer, Amys anxiety ratchets up in a way that is both familiar and troubling. In desperation, she concocts a placebo programa self-prescribed regimen for her confidence, devised to trick herself into succeeding.

When her landlord, Gary, starts to invite her over for dinnerto practice his cooking skills as he awaits approval of his Ukrainian fiancs visaAmy makes her first friend since her mothers passing. Alongside this unexpected connection comes a surge of hopeful obsession that Amy knows she must reckon with before the summers end.

Tender and laugh-out-loud funny, Nobody, Somebody, Anybodyexplores the shadowy corners of a young womans inner world of grief, delusion, and self-loathing, revealing the creeping loneliness of modern life and our endless search for connection. Kelly McClorey captures the hilarity and heartbreak of American ambition.

“It''s My Year of Rest and Relaxation, but with fewer pills and more boats.” —Entertainment Weekly

A moving and darkly comic debut novel about an anxious young woman who administers a self-made “placebo” treatment in a last-ditch attempt to rebuild her life

Amy Hanley has a job as a maid for the summer, but on August 25, she will take the exam to become an EMT (third time’s the charm!) and finally move on with her life. In the meantime, she doesn’t mind scrubbing toilets immaculately clean or tucking the sheet corners just so. In fact, she tells herself that her work is a noble act of service to the rich guests at the yacht club.

Amy’s profound isolation colors everything: her job, her aspirations, even her interactions with the woman at the deli counter. And as the date for the EMT exam comes closer, Amy’s anxiety ratchets up in a way that is both familiar and troubling. In desperation, she concocts a “placebo” program—a self-prescribed regimen for her confidence, devised to trick herself into succeeding.

When her landlord, Gary, starts to invite her over for dinner—to practice his cooking skills as he awaits approval of his Ukrainian fiancé’s visa—Amy makes her first friend since her mother’s passing. Alongside this unexpected connection comes a surge of hopeful obsession that Amy knows she must reckon with before the summer’s end.

Tender and laugh-out-loud funny, Nobody, Somebody, Anybody explores the shadowy corners of a young woman’s inner world of grief, delusion, and self-loathing, revealing the creeping loneliness of modern life and our endless search for connection. Kelly McClorey captures the hilarity and heartbreak of American ambition.