What She Was Saying: Stories

In these powerful stories, What She Was Saying softens the already thin line between hope and hopelessness, between perseverance and despair, between what can and cannot be said. Throughout the collection, diverse women startle, question, comfort, and proclaim, compelling readers to confront a company of others: a young woman who mistakes a Jehovah’s Witness for her therapist; a mother who shields an ill daughter; an elderly artist who sculpts her adopted family; a daughter of an itinerant preacher who plays her role; a lonely copy editor who fakes bruises; and-in front of many witnesses-a parachutist who jumps to her death. This collection also echoes the historical and literary voices of Rachel Robinson, Nora’s daughter in A Doll’s House, the wives of famous men named Peter, Lot’s daughters, and soldiers Jessica Lynch and Lynndie England. You will hear voices raised in prayer, lowered to whispers, slowed by fear, and silenced by anger. A finalist for the Katherine Anne Porter and Eludia book awards-as well as a semifinalist for Black Lawrence Press’s Hudson, Eastern Washington University’s Spokane, and Leapfrog Press’s book prizes-What She Was Saying gives voice to the lives we all need to hear.