A beautifully crafted, devastating short fiction collection from the Bram-Stoker finalist and author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and Other Misfortunes. Includes an introduction from acclaimed bestselling author Chuck Wendig. Eight stories of literary dark fiction from a master storyteller. Exploring the shadow side of love, these are tales of grief, obsession, control. Intricate examinations of trauma and tragedy in raw, poetic prose. In these narratives, a woman imagines horrific scenarios whilst caring for her infant niece; on-line posts chronicle a cancer diagnosis; a couple in the park with their small child encounter a stranger with horrific consequences; a toxic relationship reaches a terrifying resolution… Originally published under the title The Strange Thing We Become and Other Dark Tales, this is a much-praised collection of deeply unsettling, painfully dark tales. 'LaRocca’s sharp, incisive writing shines a bright light on the disgust, pain, and trauma wriggling under conventional behavior and polite speech...deeply unsettling, beautifully crafted, and difficult to put down once it’s started.' — Booklist Starred Review 'In this collection of eight horror shorts, LaRocca displays his signature style of rendering grotesque and brutal subject matter in exquisite prose...visceral depictions of unhinged psyches and unflinching body horror throughout will please LaRocca’s fans — and ought to earn him some new ones.' — Publishers Weekly 'These stories are body horror at its best—but they also enter the realms of dark relationships, intrusions that change our lives forever, obviously not for the best, the fear of illness, of taking care, of love, of obsession, of attachment. They are nightmarish and they are deeply human. I loved them and also my jaw dropped at how daring they are, how far they go. Eric La Rocca is not only good: there’s courage in his literature.' — Mariana Enriquez, author of The Dangers of Smoking in Bed