First published 2016
These characters inhabit a world of truck stops and southern highways, where survival requires stubborn determination. Each story reveals people pushing through difficult circumstances with raw persistence. A collection of voices emerges from places often overlooked, showing individuals who refuse to surrender despite facing poverty, isolation, and indifference from the world around them. The narratives move between the exceptional and the absurd, finding unique moments in ordinary struggle. These are people making their way forward against odds, whether at roadside diners or in forgotten corners of small towns. Dorothy Allison introduces readers to characters who embody resilience without romanticism. The stories strip away pretense to reveal what drives people to keep moving when everything seems stacked against them. Each tale offers a window into lives lived on society's margins, where wonder exists alongside hardship and hope persists in unexpected forms.
Genres: fiction, short-stories, literary-fiction, contemporary
Vibes: gritty, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: resilience, slice-of-life
Setting: America, South, Truck Stops, Highways
Period: Contemporary
256 pages · Paperback · Twisted Road Publications