More than 100 Goodreads reviews and a 4.46 average

WINNER, Phillip H. McMath Post Publication Book Award

SILVER, Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards for Short Stories

A Pulpwood Queen Bonus Book

Selected for 35 Over 35's Annual List

Made Year End Best Fiction Lists on Hungry for Good Books, Savvy Verse & Wit, Read Her Like An Open Book

Featured in The Millions Most-Anticipated The Great Second-Half  2017 Book Preview

“…Summie is our modern Chekhov.”—Savvy Verse & Wit

The stories center on the complexity of family relationships with such empathy and humanity that novelist Steve Yarbrough called the book “nothing short of magnificent.”… Summie grounds readers in reality just as they become lost in her beautiful prose…. To Lay to Rest Our Ghosts does not shy from life’s hardest moments, but its sorrow is not gratuitous. Summie is a writer who approaches life as a whole, both good and bad, rooted in history and place, and her elegant prose shines in this collection.”—Chapter16.org (also appeared in The Knoxville News-Sentinel)

“Her compelling writing reminds us of the power of a well-delivered narrative….Summie’s stories emphasize [our] shared humanity, and there is something accessible, recognizable and timely for everyone.”—The Vail Daily

“The universal issues and dilemmas at the heart of Summie’s stories and her focus on families give To Lay to Rest Our Ghosts wide appeal. You’ll want to talk about these characters as if you knew them, and you’ll want to revisit these stories more than once.”—BethFish Reads

“This debut collection works together to form a Cubist portrait of grief….Summie’s ghosts linger.”—The Minneapolis Star Tribune

“…a collection of eloquent, grace-filled stories that offers readers a mirror into their own souls. If you enjoy the spare, affecting writing of Kent Haruf, read this. Buy two copies, one for yourself and one to give someone you love.”—Hungry for Good Books

“…will resonate with readers who themselves may have experienced these life-changing family moments that seem small but are really huge.”—The St. Paul Pioneer Press

"…To Lay to Rest Our Ghosts is nothing short of magnificent. After reading "Tags," the vivid and powerful opening story, I thought Well, this is a smart writer—she's obviously led off with her best. Then I found that if anything I liked the next story even better, and by then I knew I was reading something special. These stories are realist fiction at its finest. The author's sense of place is extraordinary, and it informs every word she writes. Her characters are as real as anybody you know in the town where you live, and their lives are depicted with quiet dignity. The stories are both intense and economical. I've gotten very hard to please, but I loved this book."--Steve Yarbrough

"What is remembered; what is missed; what will never be again . . . all these are addressed with the tenderness of a wise observer whose heart is large enough, kind enough, to embrace them all without judgment. . . . intense and finely crafted  . . . . her stories reach into the hidden places of the heart and break them open to healing light, offering a touch of grace and hope of reconciliation."—Foreword Reviews, starred review

"It’s been a long time since I read a collection of stories that amazed me from cover to cover, but that’s what Caitlin Summie’s To Lay to Rest Our Ghosts did. With the grace and elegance of a master, Summie lays bare our vulnerabilities and desires and hopes in equal measure. The result is one stunning story after another, each as lovely and heartfelt as the one before. If you’re a fan of Grace Paley or Ann Beattie or Tobias Wolfe, you’ll surely find something to love in these pages."—Peter Geye, author of Wintering

“There are lots of story collections with a very strong connection to place. There are also lots of collections with great range in their locales….“To Lay to Rest Our Ghosts” is a wonderful achievement because it meets both of those goals. I found myself attached to each story and its places—carefully enhanced by characters whose lives and thoughts and situations are quite easy to feel connected to.”—Hans Weyandt, Milkweed Bookstore