Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.

Please Come Back to Me

Stories and a Novella

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

Please Come Back To Me is another remarkable collection by an author the New York Times has called "a writer with an unsparing bent for the truth."
In "The Nurse and the Black Lagoon" a woman tries to understand why her teenage son has been accused of a disturbing crime. In "Testimony" an adult daughter visiting her father does everything she can to keep herself from remembering what she believes she cannot bear. A man returns to his hometown in "Dear Nicole" to face the realization that he married the wrong woman out of misplaced guilt. "Oregon" portrays the internal struggle of a woman who, having years ago betrayed a secret entrusted to her by her best friend, is tempted to repeat the mistake with the same friend's daughter. And in the collection's novella, "Please Come Back To Me," a young widow seeks faith and comfort—in both natural and supernatural realms—after her husband's death leaves her alone to care for their infant son.
On the surface, Jessica Treadway's stories offer realistic portrayals of people in situations that make them question their roles as family members, their ability to do the right thing, and even their sanity. But Treadway's psychic landscapes are tinged with a sense of the surreal, inviting readers to recognize—as her characters do—that very little is actually as it seems.

  • Creators

  • Series

  • Publisher

  • Release date

  • Formats

  • Languages

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      November 15, 2010
      For her second story collection, Treadway draws from unsettling family dramas: parents whose mentally ill son may be guilty of a neighborhood crime; a wife who questions her relationship after her husband commits manslaughter; sisters whose memories of childhood diverge radically when one refuses to believe the other's allegations of incest; a young couple whose marriage is shadowed by cancer. Treadway examines and exposes emotions that few would readily admit to, such as a mother's impulse to suffocate her wailing son, or a woman's delight in exaggerating a childhood illness in order to gain admiration for her courage. Often set in winter, these eight tales reveal moments of empathy and revulsion alike, illuminating how love, complicated by both guilt and denial, can fray without unraveling entirely; Treadway doesn't gloss over her characters' shortcomings, nor the failure they feel for not accomplishing what they had hoped. Although the final story concludes with a disappointingly familiar realization—that we may search far and wide for signs of comfort only to find it in our midst—Treadway's writing is otherwise charged with perception.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

Languages

  • English

Loading
Check out what's being checked out right now OverDrive service is made possible by the OCLN Member Libraries and the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners with funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.