Lucy—single, childless, in her thirties—studies insects and ecosystems, in part to make sense of human behavior. ​

That hard-won insight is shattered when her mother dies prematurely, her sister claims the California family home, and Lucy learns that her biological father is apparently a Costa Rican they knew when the family spent summers in the coastal village of Palmita. ​

Reeling, Lucy heads south in search of this phantom father.​ But he is nowhere to be found, and none of the locals seem to remember her. ​The dreamy, off-grid paradise she recalls from childhood has become a hard-edged town leery of outsiders. ​

You Could Be Happy Here: A Novel is a story of identity, belonging, and of opening your heart to a deeper understanding of kinship and home.

Advance Praise for You Could Be Happy Here: A Novel

“...never goes where you think it's going, but always takes you someplace wonderful.”

—Karen Joy Fowler, national bestselling author of We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves and Booth

“Populated by a cast of colorful characters, and buoyed by the customs and culture of Costa Rica, You Could Be Happy Here is a wonderfully insightful story of one woman’s journey of discovery...an auspicious debut novel.”

—Gail Tsukiyama, national bestselling author of The Samurai’s Garden, The Color of Air, and The Brightest Star​

“A surprising novel about family and what it means to belong. ​I found myself rooting for Lucy every step of the way.”

—Julia Scheeres, NYT bestselling author of Jesus Land

“A brilliant debut novel that only a traveler could have written—a beautiful blend of travelers’ insights, natural history, and heartfelt truths about what it means to belong to a place—or have a place belong to you.”

—Pat Murphy, Nebula-winning author of The Adventures of Mary Darling​
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Richmond Author Erin Van Rheenen’s New Book Explores Belonging​ ​ READ MORE

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About the Author After earning a BA from UC Santa Cruz and a Masters from City University of New York, Erin Van Rheenen left the US to see the world. She ended up in Costa Rica, where she lived for several years, soaking up the green and researching her relocation guide, Living Abroad in Costa Rica and her children’s book, The Manatee’s Big Day.​ Her work has been anthologized and published in Bellevue Literary Review, Atlas Obscura, BBC Travel, Fiction, The Sun, and Best Women’s Travel Writing. ​For ten years, she was Senior Writer at The Exploratorium, a science museum. ​Erin lives in San Francisco.

Book Trailer

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Catch Erin on her book tour!

Thursday, September 18 – 6:30pm Celebrate the Launch of YOU COULD BE HAPPY HERE with Author Erin Van Rheenen at Books Inc. in San Francisco ​LEARN MORE​

Thursday, September 25 – 6pm Erin Van Rheenen in Conversation with Barbara Lane at Sausalito Books by the Bay ​LEARN MORE​

Sunday, October 12, 1pm Erin Van Rheenen Brings YOU COULD BE HAPPY HERE to Book Passage ​LEARN MORE​

Thursday, November 6 – 6pm Four Sibyls Bring Their Novels to Broadway Books in Portland, OR ​LEARN MORE​

Friday, November 7 – 7pm Fractured Families, at Home and Abroad: Erin Van Rheenen in Conversation with Suzy Vitello at BOLD Books & Coffee in Portland, OR ​LEARN MORE​

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Publishing the Brilliant Work of Women Authors over 50

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