Фредрик Бакман - Anxious People

All the publishers in other countries who publish my books, from Scandinavia to South Korea. In particular, I’d like to thank Peter Borland, Libby McGuire, Kevin Hanson, Ariele Fredman, Rita Silva, and everyone else who has stubbornly continued to have faith in me over at Atria Books/Simon & Schuster in the USA and Canada, and Judith Curr, who helped me to get there. You’ve become my second-home market.

Everyone who has translated my books, in particular Neil Smith. My cover designer, Nils Olsson. My favorite bookseller, Johan Zillén.

The psychologists and therapists who have worked with me in recent years. In particular, Bengt, who helped me get to grips with my panic attacks.

You.For reading this. Thank you for your time.

Finally:the authors Estelle refers to at various points in this story. In order of appearance, they are: Astrid Lindgren (page 248), J. M. Barrie (page 248), Charles Dickens (page 258), Joyce Carol Oates (page 258), Kahlil Gibran (page 259), William Shakespeare (page 281), Leo Tolstoy (page 304), and Bodil Malmsten (pages 305 and 313). If any of them has been misquoted, the fault is mine alone, or possibly my translator’s, but certainly not Estelle’s.

More from the Author

Things My Son Needs to Know About the World

Us Against You

The Deal of a Lifetime

Beartown

And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and…

Britt-Marie Was Here

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

FREDRIK BACKMAN is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove, My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, Britt-Marie Was Here, Beartown, Us Against You, and two novellas, And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer and The Deal of a Lifetime , as well as one work of nonfiction, Things My Son Needs to Know about the World. His books are published in more than forty countries. He lives in Stockholm, Sweden, with his wife and two children. Connect with him on Facebookand Twitter @BackmanLandand on Instagram @Backmansk.

SimonandSchuster.com

www.SimonandSchuster.com/Authors/Fredrik-Backman

@AtriaBooks @AtriaBooks @AtriaBooks

Also by Fredrik Backman

FICTION

A Man Called Ove

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry

Britt-Marie Was Here

And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer

Beartown

The Deal of a Lifetime

Us Against You

NONFICTION

Things My Son Needs to Know about the World

We hope you enjoyed reading this Simon & Schuster ebook.

Get a FREE ebook when you join our mailing list. Plus, get updates on new releases, deals, recommended reads, and more from Simon & Schuster. Click below to sign up and see terms and conditions.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP

Already a subscriber? Provide your email again so we can register this ebook and send you more of what you like to read. You will continue to receive exclusive offers in your inbox.

An Imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

1230 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY 10020

www.SimonandSchuster.com

This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2019 by Fredrik Backman

Translation copyright © 2020 by Neil Smith

Originally published in Sweden in 2019 as Folk med Angest

Published by arrangement with Salomonsson Agency

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Atria Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

This Atria Books hardcover edition November 2020

and colophon are trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or business@simonandschuster.com.

The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event, contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.

Jacket design and illustration by Kimberly Glyder

Author photograph © Linnéa Jonasson Bernholm/Appendix Fotografi

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for.

ISBN 978-1-5011-6083-7

ISBN 978-1-5011-6085-1 (ebook)