Sarahland

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"Queer, dirty, insightful, and so funny" (Andrea Lawlor), this debut story collection imagines new origins and futures for its unforgettable protagonists, almost all named Sarah. The author brilliantly explores how traditional narratives have failed us, providing these Sarahs with fresh origin stories, innovative ways to love the planet, and new possibilities for life. In one story, a Jewish college Sarah consents to a form-life in pursuit of an MRS degree, becoming entangled in a culture of normalized sexual violence. Another features a Sarah who finds pleasure—and new problems—by playing dead for a wealthy necrophiliac. A Buffy-loving Sarah uses fan fiction to navigate romantic obsession. As the collection unfolds, the author expands the search for self, highlighting that we must resist and repair more than our personal narratives. Readers witness the evolving "Sarah" recast as a bible-era trans woman, an aging lesbian literally growing roots, and a being transcending earthly existence. While a world destined to end is depicted, "Sarah" persists. In each Sarah's refusal to conform to a single narrative, a better home is envisioned—a place free from the constraints of fixed identity, consumerism, and bodily compromise, a place called SARAHLAND.