First published 2009
McNally presents a collection where broken people face hard truths about their lives. A woman struggles with the weight of past choices while her relationships crumble around her. A man battles addiction as his family watches him spiral downward. Another character confronts the gap between who they wanted to become and who they actually are. These stories unfold in small moments that reveal large wounds. The characters move through everyday situations that suddenly expose the darkness they carry. McNally writes with brutal honesty about people who have been damaged by life but continue searching for connection. Each story strips away pretense to show what remains when people can no longer hide from themselves. The collection explores how love persists even when it hurts, how courage appears in unexpected places, and how ordinary Americans navigate loss without losing their humanity.
Genres: short-stories, literary-fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: dark, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: character-study, slice-of-life
Period: 21st-century
216 pages · Kindle Edition · The University of Michigan Press
Content warnings: addiction, mental-illness