To call healing fiction an “emerging” genre is a bit of a misnomer. It’s emerging to us Americans, but it’s enjoyed decades long popularity in South Korea and Japan, where it has its roots. Only in the 2010s and (more so) the early 2020s has it made waves in the West. Many see the genre’s newfound success as a logical response to the heightened political, epidemiological, economic, societal, and (*checks notes*) general turmoil that many have been subjected to as of late. In times of strife, healing fiction offers solace. You see this in reviews:

“It’s like a cup of cocoa in front of the fireplace,” says one reader about Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum.

“This book was all the hope you need and want to see in the world,” says another about The Second Chance Convenience Store by Ho-Yeon Kim.

These books are not propelled by conflict, narrative threads are not left dangling uncomfortably, and cynicism is verboten. In a world that (at times) seems designed to erode the soul, healing fiction offers escape.

These stories share a number of traits. Found family, cozy settings like coffee shops or book stores, a sprinkling of magical elements, depictions of physical and emotional sustenance, second chances, feline friends, and traumatized protagonist who ultimately, well, heal. But more important than any individual story element is the pervasive idea that change is possible, that there is hope no matter what.

Before sharing some great introductory examples of healing fiction, I want to add that it’s possible you’ve already come across a Western read-alike. One example is the immensely popular The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, where protagonist Nora is transported to a mystical library after attempting suicide, each book representing a life she could have led. Though lacking the warmth generally apparent in healing fiction, its optimism and magical atmosphere are in line with the genre. Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree and A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers are cozy fantasy/science fiction that borrow healing fiction’s slice-of-life narratives and hopeful, feel-good tone. If you enjoyed any of these books, or are merely curious about the genre, here are a handful of healing fiction books to get you started.

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

In a small back alley of Tokyo, there is a café that has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. Local legend says that this shop offers something else besides coffee—the chance to travel back in time. Over the course of one summer, four customers visit the café in the hopes of making that journey. But time travel isn’t so simple, and there are rules that must be followed. Most important, the trip can last only as long as it takes for the coffee to get cold.

What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama

What are you looking for? So asks Tokyo’s most enigmatic librarian. For Sayuri Komachi is able to sense exactly what each visitor to her library is searching for and provide just the book recommendation to help them find it. A restless retail assistant looks to gain new skills, a mother tries to overcome demotion at work after maternity leave, a conscientious accountant yearns to open an antique store, a recently retired salaryman searches for newfound purpose. In Komachi’s unique book recommendations they will find just what they need to achieve their dreams.

The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa

Bookish high school student Rintaro Natsuki is about to close the secondhand bookstore he inherited from his beloved bookworm grandfather. Then, a talking cat appears with an unusual request. The feline asks for—or rather, demands—the teenager’s help in saving books with him. The world is full of lonely books left unread and unloved, and the cat and Rintaro must liberate them from their neglectful owners. 

The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai

Down a quiet backstreet in Kyoto exists a very special restaurant. Run by Koishi Kamogawa and her father Nagare, the Kamogawa Diner serves up deliciously extravagant meals. But that’s not the main reason customers stop by… The father-daughter duo are ‘food detectives’. Through ingenious investigations, they are able to recreate dishes from a person’s treasured memories – dishes that may well hold the keys to their forgotten past and future happiness. The restaurant of lost recipes provides a link to vanished moments, creating a present full of possibility.

We’ll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida

Tucked away in an old building at the end of a narrow alley in Kyoto, the Kokoro Clinic for the Soul can only be found by people who are struggling in their lives and genuinely need help. The mysterious clinic offers a unique treatment to those who find their way there: it prescribes cats as medication. Patients are often puzzled by this unconventional prescription, but when they “take” their cat for the recommended duration, they witness profound transformations in their lives, guided by the playful, empathetic, occasionally challenging yet endearing cats.