Pamela Painter’s stories are warm, wise, funny, and ultimately true to the way we live now— trying to carry on in the face of things breaking down around us. Reading each story is a thrill— for the full-blown lives, astute details, exact metaphors, and pitch-prefect dialogue. She’s like a carpenter— nailing it, again and again.
—Bobbie Ann Mason
Pamela Painter is one of the best short story writers anywhere. What impresses me most is the elegance of her prose, along with the great versatility on display in these pages. She’s mastered every key, major and minor. She makes me hurt, makes me laugh, causes me to pause in wonder. My admiration for her is boundless. She’s a treasure.
—Steve Yarbrough
A widower finds his stolen car and begins a relationship with a thief. A woman whose sisters levy accusations against their dying father wonders why he chose them, not her. A divorcing couple celebrates a final beach weekend with their closest friends. In these fifteen stories of love, loss, and recovery, Pamela Painter cements her status as a master of the contemporary short story.