When Emilia Fletcher finds herself trapped inside a Washington, DC Metro elevator, getting out is the least of her problems. Sharing the confined space with her are Em, a troubled teenager plagued by suicidal thoughts, and Millie, an elderly woman yearning to mend ties with her estranged daughter. As the hours drag on, hunger, exhaustion, and panic set in, revealing an almost incomprehensible truth: they are the same person.
Locked in an uncompromising match of memories, the three women excavate and attempt to reckon with the shared shame and suffering stemming from an unresolved trauma that has cast a profound shadow over their lives. Brimming with biting humor, compassion, and quick-witted insight, Just Emilia is a remarkable journey of self-discovery.

Praise for Just Emilia

"Jennifer Oko’s Just Emilia is a deeply moving story, uniquely told, about the different versions of ourselves—past, present, and future—that co-exist, and how, with the correction of long-buried distorted memories, they can finally find peace. A novel I won’t soon forget.”

—Laura Zigman, bestselling author of Separation Anxiety and Small World

"Just Emilia is a feat of imagination. Oko asks universal questions–how do we make sense of our past and what do we want for our future?–in delightful and inventive ways. Prepare to be surprised and moved as the elevator doors close on Emilia, Millie, and Em. They may be trapped, but the reader is taken on an unforgettable journey through memory, grief, guilt, and hope.”

—Miriam Gershow, author of Closer and Survival Tips: Stories

“Jennifer Oko trips the space-time continuum with a deft hand in this jam-packed kaleidoscope of a novel. In the fluorescent glare of the Washington, DC, Friendship Heights metro station elevator, Emilia confronts her past and future selves. Funny, compassionate, and wise, Em, Emilia, and Millie are unforgettable characters, and Just Emilia is an unforgettable story.”

—Laura Scalzo, author of American Arcadia

"Bursting with imagination! In Just Emilia, Jennifer Oko manages to transform a stuck elevator into a black box, a hall of mirrors, and a Swiss Army knife with her astonishing storytelling powers. Three women trapped inside share a past in this entertaining novel about guilt, blame, and the possibility that forgiveness can alter the future."  

—Mary Kay Zuravleff, author of American Ending

“Just Emilia is a time-travel tale with imaginative twists—an absorbing story of three women and how they make sense of their lives. Gripping from the start, this novel combines compelling storytelling with mordant humor. I loved it.”

— Clare McHugh, author of The Romanov Brides and The Most English Princess

"Who hasn’t wished they could sit down with their teenage self and assure them it’ll all be okay—or ask their future self every burning question they have about what is to come? Emilia Fletcher gets to do exactly that in Just Emilia, a compelling tale of time travel and self-discovery that will leave you re-examining your own life and memories.

—Erin Quinn-Kong, author of Hate Follow

"What happens when three versions of the same person collide in a dimensional mishap stuns the imagination. Jennifer Oko’s clever, twisty tale Just Emilia traps teenage Em, middle-aged Emilia, and silver-aged Millie in a cranky DC metro elevator and forces them to face each other, their past, present and future. Disbelief, anger, humor, fear, redemption and forgiveness unwind at a pace that keeps readers turning pages, anxious to see how the Emilias survive this perplexing space-time mystery. I love this book and can’t stop thinking about what it would be like to meet myself at different ages. What would I ask? What would I reveal? Readers will ponder the same long after they finish this enchanting story." 

—Chris McClain Johnson, author of the Fugere Prize winning novella Three Guesses