Imagine Your Life Like This

Sarah Layden, assistant professor of English at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, is the author of Trip Through Your Wires, a novel, and The Story I Tell Myself About Myself, winner of the Sonder Press Chapbook Competition. She is co-author with Bryan Furuness of The InvisibleArt of Literary Editing.

Imagine Your Life Like This Hysterectomy Resuscitation I'm Not Who You Think I Am Miller Miller Locations without Maps Where Light Can't Reach In Search Of White Hands Paternity Test Nothing and Nobody Acknowledgments

Well-written, varied, and intriguing, these stories are original and will stay with me for a long time." - Kelly Fordon, author of I Have the Answer "Layden's vividly-drawn characters struggle to define themselves in relation to who they used to be, who they want to be, and who others imagine them to be. In the midst of their various crises, they behave badly, make mistakes, and want what they can't have, and yet in spite of-or maybe because of-their fallibility, they remain sympathetic and lovable. Imagine Your Life Like This is a crisp, compassionate, and moving examination of the difficulty of seeing ourselves clearly and the pain of being seen by others in ways we can't control." - Ashley Wurzbacher, author of Happy Like This "Sarah Layden writes about loneliness and disconnection with authority and beauty. Her characters are often flawed people in the midst of difficult circumstances whose stories unravel in surprising ways. She is a writer to watch." - Marian Crotty, author of What Counts as Love "The stories in Imagine Your Life Like This are unforgettable, with characters deftly portrayed, sometimes with a single memorable line. They have outsize vices, married men, and cookie binging. They lie, they steal, they act on violent impulses, yet I loved them and longed for redemption for each and every one. You want to believe that light boxes might solve their north-country-long-winter problems, but they know deep down that's not true. I particularly connected with the sardonic, vulnerable women. They hide from the truth for a while, but inevitably truth is as necessary to them as a good meal, a strong drink. Brava, Sarah Layden!" - Patricia Henley, author of Other Heartbreaks and Hummingbird House