And to Say Hello

The twelve stories in And to Say Hello investigate the hazards of men and women becoming fathers and mothers: the immediate harm and the long-term damage. In Mass Graves, a new mothers stay-at-home anxieties are amplified by the ominous chipmunk infestation overtaking her townhouse. In Gestation, a father-to-be nurtures the idea of his ex-girlfriends imagined infidelity until it matures into a fully grown mania. In Six, a deceased womans biography and failings as a mother are communicated piecemeal through the ruminations of her pallbearers. In The Vasectomy Doctors Online Presence, the professional and familial successes of an urologist are cruelly and publicly undercut by his failed musical aspirations. And in the title story, a mothers irrational worry about her sons language development puts irreparable strain upon her marriage.