The following version of this book was used to create this study guide: July, Miranda. No One Belongs Here More Than You. New York: Scribner, 2007. No One Belongs Here More Than You is a collection of short stories by Miranda July.

In “The Shared Patio,” a woman harbors romantic feelings for her married neighbor. When the neighbor has a seizure and falls unconscious on their shared patio, the narrator does not call 911. Instead, she lies next to her neighbor and falls asleep next to him, dreaming of a life they might have together.

In “The Swim Team,” the narrator recalls a time in her life when she lived and worked in a small town. She befriended her elderly coworkers. When she learned that none of them knew how to swim, she endeavored to teach them. Because they did not have a pool or a nearby body of water, she taught them on the floor of her apartment. The narrator has not seen them in years, and she assumes they have all died of old age.

In “Majesty,” a 46-year-old American woman harbors obsessive romantic feelings for Prince William of the British royal family. One day, after witnessing the death of a neighborhood dog, the woman reflects upon the loneliness and desolation of her life.

In “The Man on the Stairs,” a woman lies in bed next to her boyfriend. She suddenly becomes worried that there is an intruder in their home. She thinks about the potential intruder, and she also reflects obliquely on the ways in which she is dissatisfied in her relationship.

In “The Sister,” a man in his sixties attempts to go on a date with Blanca, the sister of a friend. However, he is repeatedly unable to contact her. Eventually, the friend reveals that he lied, and that there is no Blanca. The friend expresses romantic feelings for the man, and they become sexually intimate with each other.

In “This Person,” a woman learns that her entire life up to that point has been a test. She has now passed, and everyone she has ever met comes to her and expresses love and admiration towards her. The woman then goes home and begins to worry that she has now somehow ruined this new opportunity.

In “It Was Romance,” a woman goes to a retreat designed to teach attendees how to have better romantic relationships. The protagonist befriends another woman there. Their relationship begins to develop potential romantic elements, but they part ways when the retreat ends.

In “Something That Needs Nothing,” two women in their late teens move to Portland, Oregon to establish new lives away form their families. The narrator is in love with the other woman, Pip. Pip does not reciprocate these feelings. They eventually part ways, and the narrator finds work as a stripper in the back of a pornographic video store.

In “I Kiss a Door,” a woman recalls a former friend of hers named Eleanor. Eleanor has gone on to become a relatively successful musician. One day, the narrator hears a rumor that Eleanor has a sexual relationship with her (Eleanor’s) father.

In “The Boy from Lam Kien,” an agoraphobic woman attempts to walk a significant distance away from her home. Not far from her home, she encounters a young boy. The boy returns with her to her apartment. She attempts to keep his attention for as long as possible, but not long after his arrival, he leaves.

In “Making Love in 2003,” a woman recalls seeing a dark figure materialize in her bedroom around the time that she went through puberty. The shape visited her often over the years, and she experienced her interactions with it as sexually exciting. When she was in her late teens, the dark shape stopped appearing to her. She concluded that it must have coalesced into the form of a person somewhere in the world. One day, when she is 24 years old, she begins to have a relationship with a 15-year-old boy, believing him to be the manifestation of the dark shape. However, the relationship ends when the boy begins dating someone his own age.

In “Ten True Things,” a woman named Dana works for a man named Rick. When Dana learns that Rick’s lover, Ellen, is taking a sewing class, Dana enrolls in the same class. Dana begins to develop romantic feelings for Ellen, but Ellen never reciprocates her feelings.

In “The Moves,” a dying man decides to pass along his only knowledge to his daughter. Specifically, he shows her hand movements that are useful for bringing a woman to orgasm. The daughter is not sure that she will ever have a use for that information, but she decides that if she ever has children of her own, she will honor her father’s memory by passing down the hand techniques to them.

“Mon Plaisir” follows an unhappy married couple. One day, in an attempt to do a new activity together, they find work as background extras on a movie set. During the filming, while they pretend to be characters who are a happy married couple, they become more aware of their own unhappiness. They then decide to separate.

“Birthmark” follows a woman with a ‘port wine stain’ birthmark. One day, she has the birthmark removed with a medical procedure. She later meets and falls in love with a man, and they marry. However, the woman begins to worry that the man would not have loved her if he had met her when she still had the birthmark. One day, the birthmark suddenly returns. The man decides that he does not mind it, and he hopes that the woman will let him continue to love her.

In “How to Tell Stories to Children,” a married couple—Tom and Sarah—have a daughter together and name her Lyon. Their friend Deb soon forms an emotional attachment to Lyon and becomes like a third parent to her. The story follows these four characters over the course of about 20 years. When Lyon is about 13 years old, they all see a family therapist—Ed—for a little over a month. About two years later, Deb tries to initiate a romantic relationship with Ed and is mortified when Lyon finds out. Lyon becomes more emotionally distant from Deb, Sarah, and Tom over the following years. One day, when Lyon is about 20 years old, she begins dating Ed. Deb wonders if Lyon is doing so in order to spite her.