First published 1986
Sarah teaches literature at a small New England college and writes fiction in her spare time. She believes stories should transform raw experience into something meaningful. But when her students submit work that mirrors their troubled lives too closely, she faces a dilemma. How much distance should separate the writer from the written? Her own manuscript about a failed marriage sits unfinished on her desk. She cannot decide whether to mine her divorce for material or leave that pain untouched. Meanwhile, her favorite student submits increasingly personal stories that worry Sarah. The young woman writes about family violence with startling clarity but seems unable to separate herself from her narrator. Sarah must choose between encouraging honest expression and protecting her student from reliving trauma through words. The decision forces Sarah to examine her own relationship with memory, truth, and the stories we tell ourselves.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, contemporary, academic
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: unreliable-narrator
Setting: New England
1012 pages · Paperback · Harcourt School