It is with the saddest of hearts that I report that Debbie Sarow, proprietress and owner of Mercer Street Books, passed away on Monday morning. After spending the last few weeks in Paris, she came home to Seattle. She was surrounded by loved ones, including her partner Oscar, and long-time friend and bookstore employee Aaron Bagley.

Mercer Street Books is closed this week in memorium, but will reopen next. Drop by this week and leave flowers at the door, if you are one of the many who Debbie knew and touched. Drop by next week and buy some books. As a way to celebrate her life by bringing the Seattle book community together, I can't think of a better method. Say hello to the people still running the shop, no doubt missing Debbie so much more acutely than us on the outside.

We are heartbroken at this news. Debbie was very important to us at the Seattle Review of Books. I'll follow with a more personal rememberence in the days to come.

A post shared by Aaron Bagley (@aaronbagley) on Aug 20, 2018 at 9:15pm PDT