Surprisingly, the conceit of looking down from heaven works nicely, since Ms Sebold avoids the precious, making Susie's paradise agreeably ordinary, a place where the dead learn to let go of the living while below the living learn to let go of the dead.
The overall effect is as agreeably soothing as iced tea on a front porch in the summertime with a slice of lemon to offset all that sweetness, of course.