Audrey Meyerwitz wants to fall in love and have a family. But for this queer 30-something insomniac who’s struggled with Generalized Anxiety Disorder since childhood, it’s a goal that’s far from simple. When best friend Jessica, a recovering alcoholic, helps introvert Audrey with a profile on SheLovesHer, Audrey takes that scary first step toward her lifelong dream. Through online dating, immigrating to Canada, and having a baby with Down Syndrome, she struggles and grows. But when Audrey unearths a secret about her mother, everything about her identity as a mother, a daughter, and a person with mental illness ruptures. How do we create closeness from roots of deep alienation? With humor, honesty, and complexity, Audrey learns that healthy love means accepting gains and losses, taking off the blinders of fantasy, and embracing the messiness that defines human families.

Gail Marlene Schwartz is a freelance editor, a queer mom, and an enthusiastic if mediocre pianist. She and co-author Lucie Gagnon recently released a middle grade novel, My Sister’s Girlfriend, and a picture book, The Loudest Bark, both with Rebel Mountain Press. Short story awards and honors include Lilith Magazine (“Chosen”), Room Magazine (“Loving Benjamin”), Causeway Lit and The Malahat Review (“Inside Crying”), and The Tishman Review (“Crocodile in the Elevator”). Gail’s work has also been published in the anthologies Swelling with Pride (Caitlyn Press), Nature’s Healing Spirit (Sowing Creek Press), How to Expect What You’re Not Expecting (TouchWood Editions), and Hidden Lives (Brindle and Glass). She teaches writing at the Community College of Vermont and is a founding editor of the collective journal, Hotch Potch Literature and Art. Gail lives and writes in a crooked old farmhouse in Montgomery, Vermont where she and her partner Erin offer workshops in writing, spoon carving, and creative living. www.gailmarleneschwartz.com

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