Charlotte's long nights are anything but restful, spent worrying and tossing while her mind reels with invisible noises and imagined burglars. Divorced for fifteen years, Charlotte has come to enjoy her small, tightly scheduled life, much of which is focused on her 22-year-old daughter Emily. A headstrong Ivy League graduate with a pierced tongue and an arsenal of opinions, Emily lives life from one passion to the next - the latest of which, her boyfriend, has invited Emily to move in with him, giving Charlotte one more reason to lie awake at night. But when Emily and her new man arrive for a much-anticipated weekend visit, what is revealed rivals anything Charlotte could have dreamt up in the darkness. And in the chaos that ensues, secrets are divulged, old memories are brought back to the surface, and Charlotte's carefully constructed reality breaks wide open. Following on the heels of her popular debut, GETTING OVER JACK WAGNER, this entertaining story about getting close and letting go confirms Elise Juska's place in the ranks of rising young literary stars.

Author Biography

Elise Juska's short stories have appeared in many magazines, including The Hudson Review, Harvard Review, Salmagundi, Black Warrior Review, Calyx, and The Seattle Review. She teaches fiction writing at The New School in New York City and The University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Her first novel, Getting Over Jack Wagner, is available from Downtown Press. Visit the author's website: www.elisejuska.com.