In this collection of short stories, bestselling author Marge Piercy brings us glimpses into the lives of everyday women moving through and making sense of their daily internal and external worlds. Keeping to the engaging, accessible language of Piercy’s novels, the collection spans decades of her writing along with a range of locations, ages, and emotional states of her protagonists. From the first-person account of hoarding and a girl’s narrative of sexual and spiritual discovery to the recounting of a past love affair, each story is a tangible, vivid snapshot in a varied and subtly curated gallery of work. Whether grappling with death, familial relationships, friendship, sex, illness, or religion, Piercy’s writing is as passionate, lucid, insightful, and thoughtfully alive as ever.

Marge Piercy is the author of 17 novels, including the national bestsellers Braided Lives, Gone to Soldiers, and Woman on the Edge of Time; 17 volumes of poetry; and a critically acclaimed memoir, Sleeping with Cats. She has been the recipient of four honorary doctorates and has been a key player in many of the major progressive political battles, including the anti–Vietnam War and the women’s movements, and more recently an active participant in the resistance to the war in Iraq. She lives in Wellfleet, Massachusetts.