Absent Without Leave and Other Stories
Winner of the John C. Zacharis First Book Award
Two sisters meet for the first time after their father has killed their sister and himself; a man dying of cancer rescues a small boy from a closed refrigerator; an alcoholic, long divorced, shows up at his daughter's wedding; a man who long ago abused his daughter realizes at last the full impact of what he has done.
"Treadway's stories reveal a writer with an unsparing bent for the truth." —The New York Times Book Review
"Without a doubt, Treadway's first book is one of the most powerful debuts by an American writer in years. The ten stories in this collection are emotionally raw, unflinching in their honesty and generous in their depth." —Don Lee, Ploughshares
"Jessica Treadway has greatness in her, and you'll want to take this book into the twenty-first century, when she will soar." —Andre Dubus