The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World

A Novel

De: Laura Imai Messina

Narrado por: Traci Kato-Kiriyama

The international bestselling novel sold in 21 countries, about grief, mourning, and the joy of survival, inspired by a real phone booth in Japan with its disconnected “wind” phone, a place of pilgrimage and solace since the 2011 tsunami

When Yui loses both her mother and her daughter in the tsunami, she begins to mark the passage of time from that date onward: Everything is relative to March 11, 2011, the day the tsunami tore Japan apart, and when grief took hold of her life. Yui struggles to continue on, alone with her pain.

Then, one day she hears about a man who has an old disused telephone booth in his garden. There, those who have lost loved ones find the strength to speak to them and begin to come to terms with their grief. As news of the phone booth spreads, people travel to it from miles around.

Soon Yui makes her own pilgrimage to the phone booth, too. But once there she cannot bring herself to speak into the receiver. Instead she finds Takeshi, a bereaved husband whose own daughter has stopped talking in the wake of her mother’s death.

Simultaneously heartbreaking and heartwarming, The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World is the signpost pointing to the healing that can come after.


* This audiobook includes a downloadable PDF of reading group questions and a glossary from the book.

Tender, touching, original story

I loved everything about this novel-- the unusual structure, the story as told through different characters' eyes, the author's understanding of grief, the complexity of emotion.... there is so much to savor. The pacing was perfect. I loved the narration--Traci's command of English and Japanese, as well as her capacity to distinguish different voices, was so skillful and made the story accessible and delightful to listen to. Highly recommended!

The sense of community theses survivors found was heartwarming

I appreciate the short entries and different people we got to follow. Overall a nice causal listen

Top Notch

Great story that was very well written. The author captured this story with words. Must read!

A Bittersweet Journey Through Grief

The Phone Booth at the Edge of the World is a quietly stunning meditation on grief, love, and the unspoken ways we try to hold on and let go. It explores grief in such a unique and tender way. It’s painful at times, but never without hope. The narration was gentle and reflective, which made the emotional moments even more poignant. It's a book that doesn’t offer neat resolutions but instead honors the slow, unpredictable path of healing. If you’re looking for something that honors loss while offering space to heal, this is it. It stayed with me long after I finished listening.

Heart and depth

The author explores the depths of grief with words and ideas that thankfully replace common words like sadness, emptiness etc. The many characters continue to reveal their grief through the progression of their lives. This book has calmed and given me more ways to wrestle with my own grief.