{"product_id":"a-guide-to-being-born-9781594632686","title":"A Guide to Being Born","description":"\u003ch2\u003eA Guide to Being Born by Ramona Ausubel\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eReminiscent of Aimee Bender and Karen Russell, from the author of the new collection, \u003ci\u003eAwayland\u003c\/i\u003e--an enthralling book of stories that uses the world of the imagination to explore the heart of the human condition.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMajor literary talent Ramona Ausubel, author of \u003ci\u003eSons and Daughters of Ease and Plenty\u003c\/i\u003e, combines the otherworldly wisdom of her much-loved debut novel, \u003ci\u003eNo One Is Here Except All of Us\u003c\/i\u003e, with the precision of the short-story form. \u003ci\u003eA Guide to Being Born\u003c\/i\u003e is organized around the stages of life--love, conception, gestation, birth--and the transformations that happen as people experience deeply altering life events, falling in love, becoming parents, looking toward the end of life. In each of these eleven stories Ausubel's stunning imagination and humor are moving, entertaining, and provocative, leading readers to see the familiar world in a new way.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eEleven Stories of Love and Transformation\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn \"Atria\" a pregnant teenager believes she will give birth to any number of strange animals rather than a human baby; in \"Catch and Release\" a girl discovers the ghost of a Civil War hero living in the woods behind her house; and in \"Tributaries\" people grow a new arm each time they fall in love. Funny, surprising, and delightfully strange--all the stories have a strong emotional core; Ausubel's primary concern is always love, in all its manifestations.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eRecognition and Accolades\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eRamona Ausubel has been longlisted for The Frank O'Connor Short Story Prize, and a finalist for the New York Public Library Young Lions award and the Pushcart Prize. Her work has been published in \u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eOne Story\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Paris Review Daily\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBest American Fantasy\u003c\/i\u003e, and elsewhere, and has received special mentions in \u003ci\u003eThe Best American Short Stories\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Best American Nonrequired Reading\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003ePerfect For\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis collection makes an ideal book club selection, baby shower gift, or Mother's Day present for readers who appreciate contemporary fiction with magical realism elements. The paperback edition offers accessible entry into Ausubel's distinctive literary voice that explores parenthood, pregnancy, and the transformative stages of human life with humor and emotional depth.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eRamona Ausubel\u003c\/b\u003e is a graduate of the MFA program at the University of California, Irvine. She is the author of \u003ci\u003eAwayland\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSons and Daughters of Ease and Plenty\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eNo One Is Here Except All of Us\u003c\/i\u003e. Her work has been published in \u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eOne Story\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Paris Review Daily\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBest American Fantasy\u003c\/i\u003e, and elsewhere, and has received special mentions in \u003ci\u003eThe Best American Short Stories\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Best American Nonrequired Reading\u003c\/i\u003e. She has been longlisted for The Frank O'Connor Short Story Prize, and a finalist for the New York Public Library Young Lions award and the Pushcart Prize.","brand":"Penguin Publishing Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50681276662034,"sku":"9781594632686","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_0fd370de-dcac-4ffd-8192-08d98a7ea75e.jpg?v=1733951182","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/a-guide-to-being-born-9781594632686","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}