Lauren Sullivan writes warm, funny, and occasionally heartbreaking contemporary fiction about people rebuilding their lives with the help of the family they choose along the way — in worlds most of us only see from the outside, such as private airports and race paddocks. Her stories are about what people build after their world falls apart, and who shows up to help.

Lauren’s books will make you laugh before you cry (you may do both in the same chapter). Lauren is a sucker for a good love story, and you can expect a happy ending, even if it’s messy.

Find Lauren on Instagram @lsullivanbooks.

A ramp along a curved wall in the Kiasma Museu, Helsinki, Finland