A01=Taryn Delanie Smith
A12=Maria Krasinski
afterlife exploration
Author_Maria Krasinski
Author_Taryn Delanie Smith
beloved pets in heaven
bingo in heaven
Category=JHBZ
Category=VFJX
Category=VSP
Category=WH
eq_bestseller
eq_health-lifestyle
eq_humour
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_self-help
eq_society-politics
flying lessons in heaven
forthcoming
heavenly activities
horseback riding in heaven
inclusive afterlife
joy in heaven
love as magic
no cruelty in heaven
peace and forgiveness
spirits returning to Earth
understanding and forgiveness
unfinished business
watching over loved ones
Product details
- ISBN 9781668212462
- Weight: 177g
- Dimensions: 127 x 178mm
- Publication Date: 22 Oct 2026
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
Secure
checkout
Fast Shipping
Easy returns
From beloved content creator Taryn Delanie Smith, comes a luminous and comforting vision of the afterlife—told through her beloved character, Denise, Heaven’s sharp-witted and big-hearted receptionist.
For millions of followers, Denise has become a guide to the great beyond: welcoming new arrivals at Heaven’s front desk, answering their most pressing questions, and offering reassurance with humor, grace, and a knowing wink. What is there to do in Heaven? Can our loved ones still sense us? What about our pets? Do we get to choose our eternal outfit? Denise has heard it all—and she’s ready with answers that are as thoughtful as they are disarming.
In Welcome to the Afterlife, Smith expands the world that has captivated those who know her from social media, inviting readers on a richly imagined tour of the “Upstairs.” From horseback riding and bingo nights to flying lessons and long-awaited reunions, Heaven is revealed as a place of joy, restoration, and deep connection. But Denise doesn’t shy away from the harder questions: What happens to unfinished business? How are babies cared for? How do we forgive ourselves—and each other—once we’ve crossed over?
Along the way, we meet unforgettable souls, and with each encounter, Denise gently reminds us that love endures, and that those we’ve lost are never truly far away.
Behind the humor and sparkle lies Smith’s own grounding in philosophy and religion, lending depth and nuance to Denise’s voice. The result is a work that is at once playful and profound—a comforting meditation on grief, grace, and the invisible threads that bind us to one another.
Warm, funny, and unexpectedly wise, Welcome to the Afterlife offers solace to anyone who has loved and lost—and a hopeful reminder that what awaits us may be far less frightening, and far more beautiful, than we imagine.
For millions of followers, Denise has become a guide to the great beyond: welcoming new arrivals at Heaven’s front desk, answering their most pressing questions, and offering reassurance with humor, grace, and a knowing wink. What is there to do in Heaven? Can our loved ones still sense us? What about our pets? Do we get to choose our eternal outfit? Denise has heard it all—and she’s ready with answers that are as thoughtful as they are disarming.
In Welcome to the Afterlife, Smith expands the world that has captivated those who know her from social media, inviting readers on a richly imagined tour of the “Upstairs.” From horseback riding and bingo nights to flying lessons and long-awaited reunions, Heaven is revealed as a place of joy, restoration, and deep connection. But Denise doesn’t shy away from the harder questions: What happens to unfinished business? How are babies cared for? How do we forgive ourselves—and each other—once we’ve crossed over?
Along the way, we meet unforgettable souls, and with each encounter, Denise gently reminds us that love endures, and that those we’ve lost are never truly far away.
Behind the humor and sparkle lies Smith’s own grounding in philosophy and religion, lending depth and nuance to Denise’s voice. The result is a work that is at once playful and profound—a comforting meditation on grief, grace, and the invisible threads that bind us to one another.
Warm, funny, and unexpectedly wise, Welcome to the Afterlife offers solace to anyone who has loved and lost—and a hopeful reminder that what awaits us may be far less frightening, and far more beautiful, than we imagine.
Taryn Delanie Smith is a writer, performer, and creator who started her career as a receptionist in New York City, a job she worked while earning her master's degree in communication and intercultural studies that later inspired her creation of Denise, Heaven's Receptionist. Smith's charcater has since amassed over tens of millions of views across social media, becoming an unlikely home where those experiencing grief can find humor and human connection. A Seattle native, she lives in Hudson Valley, New York, with her husband and their Great Dane, Bruce. Welcome to the Afterlife is her debut book.
Maria Krasinski is an artist, educator, and illustrator of the books Art Hiding in New York, Art Hiding in Paris, and I’m Not Your Muse. A graduate of the University of Chicago, she is also a former Peace Corps volunteer and Jeopardy! contestant. She lives in Paris.
Maria Krasinski is an artist, educator, and illustrator of the books Art Hiding in New York, Art Hiding in Paris, and I’m Not Your Muse. A graduate of the University of Chicago, she is also a former Peace Corps volunteer and Jeopardy! contestant. She lives in Paris.
