About Melissa Agawa
Melissa Agawa is a literary writer based in Northern Michigan, where the natural world and inner world often meet. Encouraged from a young age to write, she has spent much of her life exploring the quiet power of language and the rhythms of human connection. She is a lifelong student of story - of what it means to endure, to remember, and to begin again.
Her debut novella, The Ones Who Stayed, is an intimate reflection on grief, belonging, and the beauty of ordinary lives. With poetic restraint and emotional honesty, Melissa invites readers to sit with complexity - to find themselves in the shadows, the soil, and the silences between people.
She is a mother and a seeker, drawn to the places where language meets emotion. Her work doesn’t aim to explain life, but to to feel it - to trace its tenderness, its weight, and its beauty with care.
The Ones Who Stayed is her first published work.
Order your copy of The Ones Who Stayed today.
“Some loves arrive to awaken us. Some to dismantle us. And some, just to remind us we’re still alive”
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Curious about The Ones Who Stayed? Want to chat about writing, grief, or what it means to tell a story? Reach out. Whether you’re a reader, a bookseller, a fellow artist, or someone who felt something in these pages - you’re welcome here.