A dark book about mother-daughter relationships and woman to woman friendships with a twist at the end I didn't see coming. It's an incredibly compelling novel with intense subject matter.
'Chelsea Bieker breathes thrilling, risky energy into the familiar trope of the madwoman... A well-paced and absorbing page-turner.' New York Times
CLOVE HAS BUILT HER DREAM LIFE. IT'S ABOUT TO COME CRASHING DOWN.
Everything appears to be going pretty well for Clove. She's built a stable family home in Portland, she has a handsome husband who encourages her to pursue her dream of writing, and her two kids are pretty adorable. Sure, she dabbles in a low-level shopping addiction and is racking up a not-so-funny amount of credit card debt, but who doesn't have a vice…
I don't know how Elizabeth McCracken writes about her stillborn son with such tenderness and grief, but also hope and humor. This book is unforgetable.
"This is the happiest story in the world with the saddest ending," writes Elizabeth McCracken in her powerful, inspiring memoir. A prize-winning, successful novelist in her 30s, McCracken was happy to be an itinerant writer and self-proclaimed spinster. But suddenly she fell in love, got married, and two years ago was living in a remote part of France, working on her novel, and waiting for the birth of her first child.
This book is about what happened next. In her ninth month of pregnancy, she learned that her baby boy had died. How do you deal with and recover from…
Historical fiction set in the aftermath of WWII, this novel explores the lasting, far-reaching effects of Hitler's regime, but in a way that centers a particular family and the stranger who arrives to unearth their secrets.
Longlisted for the 2025 Aspen Words Literary Prize • A Best Book of 2024: Time, Kirkus Reviews, BookPage, The Sunday Times (London)
“Remarkable…Compelling…Fine and taut…Indelible.” —The New York Times • “Moving, unnerving, and deeply sexy.” —Tracy Chevalier, author of Girl with the Pearl Earring • “A brilliant debut, as multi-faceted as a gem.” —Kirkus Reviews
A “razor-sharp, perfectly plotted” (The Sunday Times, London) tale of desire, suspicion, and obsession between two women staying in the same house in the Dutch countryside during the summer of 1961—a powerful exploration of…
At twenty-one, Jen Dupree is working as an Activity Director in a nursing home when she meets Marcel―a man twenty-five years her senior who has cerebral palsy. Despite the physical limitations of his disability, Jen sees in Marcel a magnificent spark: endless curiosity, infectious humor, and an unshakeable propensity for joy. When a doctor tells Marcel to "get up and move around" despite his chart clearly noting he's never walked, Jen asks if the doctor brought his magic wand. It's the beginning of a friendship that will span three decades.
We live in a society that values speed and efficiency, so what does it mean when your life is necessarily slow and you must rely on others for tasks as simple as wiping your nose? Through nearly thirty years of Portland Pirates hockey games, concerts, hospital advocacy battles, and countless adventures, Jen discovers the answer alongside Marcel.
Slow Motion is both a heartfelt tribute to an extraordinary friendship and an awakening to disability rights and advocacy. By turns hilarious and heartbreaking, these stories reveal how Marcel has navigated prejudice, medical dismissal, and an ableist culture with grace and determination―and how Jen learned to see the world through entirely new eyes.
This is a story about showing up, speaking out, and the transformative power of chosen family. With deadpan humor and unflinching honesty, Dupree offers readers a portrait of friendship that transcends difference and celebrates our shared humanity.
