A very satisfying debut collection of eleven short stories!!!
Emily Doyle narrates her characters’ misadventures with grace, humanity, dark humor, and emotional relevance.
I enjoyed these stories ….and look forward to reading Emily Doyle’s next book.

In “Thursdays for Haru”
“Heru Jenkin’s husband has been abducted at 3:23 AM every Thursday for six years.
The first abduction occurred a month after their youngest son went away to college.
Her husband was returned to his bed at 6:18 AM well rested and still in his striped pajamas”.
It doesn’t matter if Heru’s husband and she are on vacation… It doesn’t matter where they are… The same thing happens every week. The abductions track space and time zone zones.
Heru actually has come to cherish her private time while her husband is away being abducted. It gives her more time to develop your own secret life. She runs an advice column (calls herself Madam X), and gets many emails from strangers.
One man writes Heru that he’s having sexual lustful fantasies about a dog.

The Only Child”
Liv was busy, tending to her mother while she was having her hip replaced. Making sure she had the right food. Helping her get up from chairs, etc.
I found this story to be pretty sad ….not directly in your face sad….but not to be fooled…it was. An only child ….and her mother story. I felt it.

“Ronald Reagan Is Reborn as. Puppy and Learns to Behave”In
“Before the bullet was removed from my chest, a team of nurses cut away my suit, apologizing. I pulled off the oxygen mask to say, I hope you are all Republicans. It got a good laugh.”
“The head surgeon said, Today, Mr. President, we are all Republicans. And then, Dammit, he is handsome. And that, too, not a good—“.

In each of these stories Emily explores the different ways we try to connect with one another. Her characters are all hurting—some quite badly….. but her writing is very astute…. and she explores characters reacting to chaos and consequences of their everyday lives from fractured relationships to the loss of a loved one and instant regret.

Congrats to Emily Doyle on this debut short story collection ….
These stories show a lot of strength…(relatable characters reveal their human frailties).