The goodbye process : stories / Mary Jones

From outside I could see -- The next husband game -- Absences -- The Hexter girls -- Sam's house -- The one who keeps the washcloth cold -- Realtor -- The widow -- Where we used to live -- Help will be here soon -- Our lives without each other -- The father -- Tell me something new -- We're not so far from there -- Thanksgiving -- Everything that's left -- The short history of her heart -- The songs we used to sing -- In moments of silence -- On the other side of the yard -- If there's anything you need -- Burglary -- I'll go with you -- Customer of size -- Recess -- The correct way to breathe -- Royalty -- The goodbye process -- Acknowledgements.

What happens when you are forced to let go of the things you love the most? What are you left with? In her debut short story collection, The Goodbye Process, Mary Jones uses her distinctive voice to examine the painful and sometimes surreal ways we say goodbye. The stories - which range from tender and heartbreaking to unsettling and darkly funny - will push you out of your comfort zone and ignite intense emotions surrounding love and loss. A woman camps out on the porch of an ex-lover who has barricaded himself inside the house; a preteen girl caught shoplifting finds herself in grave danger; a Los Angeles real estate agent falls for a woman who helps him detach from years of dramatic plastic surgery; a man hires a professional mourner to ensure his wife's funeral is a success. Again and again, Jones's characters find themselves facing the ends of things: relationships, health, and innocence.

English