JUST EMILIA.
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An interactive companion inspired by the novel Just Emilia by Jennifer Oko

One life.
One stuck
elevator.

Each floor is a version of your life.

What would happen if you were trapped in an elevator with your younger and older selves?

Tell the elevator a few honest things. The doors close. Three versions of you start talking — and you get to talk back.

Step into the elevator →How it works
Just Emilia by Jennifer Oko — paperback book
“A novel I won't soon forget.” — Laura Zigman ✦“A feat of imagination.” — Miriam Gershow ✦“Astonishing storytelling powers.” — Mary Kay Zuravleff ✦“A jam-packed kaleidoscope of a novel.” — Laura Scalzo ✦“Gripping from the start.” — Clare McHugh ✦“A novel I won't soon forget.” — Laura Zigman ✦“A feat of imagination.” — Miriam Gershow ✦“Astonishing storytelling powers.” — Mary Kay Zuravleff ✦“A jam-packed kaleidoscope of a novel.” — Laura Scalzo ✦“Gripping from the start.” — Clare McHugh ✦“A novel I won't soon forget.” — Laura Zigman ✦“A feat of imagination.” — Miriam Gershow ✦“Astonishing storytelling powers.” — Mary Kay Zuravleff ✦“A jam-packed kaleidoscope of a novel.” — Laura Scalzo ✦“Gripping from the start.” — Clare McHugh ✦“A novel I won't soon forget.” — Laura Zigman ✦“A feat of imagination.” — Miriam Gershow ✦“Astonishing storytelling powers.” — Mary Kay Zuravleff ✦“A jam-packed kaleidoscope of a novel.” — Laura Scalzo ✦“Gripping from the start.” — Clare McHugh ✦

The premise

If every version
of you could sit
down together…

You tell the elevator a few honest things. Then the doors close, and three versions of you — 17, now, and 77 — start talking. About you. To each other. About your actual life.

17
Voice 1 of 3

The angry one

Em.

Angry. Hopeful.

47
Voice 2 of 3

THE ONE HOLDING IT TOGETHER

Emilia.

Witty. Weary.

77
Voice 3 of 3

The one who already knows

Millie.

Openhearted. Imperfect.

A sample beat

You, Emilia — "What if, in fact, the impossible is possible? If it is true? Then what?"

Millie, 77 — "If you ask me, I believe it might add up to everything."

Em, 17 — "Go crazy. I'm all ears."

Start yours →

Your turn

Ready to meet
the other yous?

Answer a few honest questions. The doors will close. Three floors, three versions of your life, one conversation you can't have anywhere else.

Begin your journey →

Takes about a minute to start. Nothing is saved.

Not ready for the elevator?

Write a letter to your younger or older self →

The book

We are never
just one version
of ourselves.

When 47-year-old Emilia Fletcher becomes trapped in a stalled Washington, DC Metro elevator, she discovers she's not alone. Sharing the tiny space with her are Em, her angry, suicidal 17-year-old self, and Millie, the 77-year-old woman she will one day become.

As hours turn into a surreal reckoning, the three women slowly untangle decades of guilt, shame, distorted memories, and a devastating family trauma that has shaped every stage of their lives.

What would you tell your younger self? What would your older self tell you?

Read the novel

Three women. One stuck elevator. A past that refuses to stay buried.

A kaleidoscopic novel about the versions of ourselves that co-exist — past, present, and future.

Buy on Bookshop.org →Amazon →Barnes & Noble →

And always ask your local bookstores and libraries! There are copies there, too!