by Erika Krouse
First published 2025
A runaway teenager grips the steering wheel of an ice cream truck, navigating dangerous gang territory while fighting for her future. She represents one of many characters caught at pivotal moments across Erika Krouse's story collection. In the world's coldest town, a terminal patient finds purpose helping others die. A cleaning woman searches for answers about the teenager who died in her place. From a Bangkok sex shop to a Rocky Mountain bed and breakfast, these men and women face impossible choices. Each story examines how far people will stretch to rescue others and themselves. Krouse builds toward powerful emotional releases as her characters navigate the spaces between laughter and pain, between community and isolation, between hope and despair.
Genres: fiction, short-stories, drama, literary-fiction, contemporary
Vibes: character-driven, emotional, intimate, introspective, poignant, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, interconnected-narratives, pivotal-moments, second-chances
Setting: Bangkok, Rocky Mountains, coldest town
224 pages · Paperback · Flatiron Books
Content warnings: death, terminal-illness, violence