Spilling My Heart Out for You

This collection of fiction and creative nonfiction explores the ways in which relationships are formed and broken. Many of the stories feature characters dealing with disillusionment, such as a Mennonite girl whose faith is destroyed by a family member, or a woman whose obsessions lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy of betrayal. The bond between two friends in college loosens when one feels a stronger pull toward her first serious romantic relationship. Some are driven by anxiety over missing out on life’s chances and opportunities, such as a woman who is consumed by jealousy when she runs into her ex-lover’s wife, who is pregnant. Others are limited in their ability to communicate and become entangled in absurdity, such as a man and woman on a first date who end up at a support group meeting. Some must cross boundaries to satisfy their need for human connection, such as a man consumed by an obscure fetish, and a woman whose attempts to find love on the Internet result in a less than ideal outcome. Yet other characters experience moments of transcendence through connections with strangers, such as one heartbroken woman who begins to heal in the presence of a man who is mute and deaf. The final piece, an essay, depicts a father who travels across the country to visit his daughter, unannounced. Behind each of these narratives are characters driven by the necessity to love and be loved.