{"product_id":"why-they-run-the-way-they-do-stories-9781476761442","title":"Why They Run the Way They Do: Stories","description":"\u003cb\u003eFrom the celebrated author of \u003ci\u003eWho I Was Supposed to Be\u003c\/i\u003e, Susan Perabo's collection of twelve \"ingenious and lovable stories [that] crack open the world\" (\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review) and illuminate the everyday truths of people facing challenging situations...often of their own making.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eWhy They Run the Way They Do\u003c\/i\u003e, critically acclaimed author Susan Perabo illustrates the triumphs and tragedies of daily life. Perfectly distilled into moments of sharp humor and poignancy, this collection features ordinary people in sometimes extraordinary circumstances. Two young students try their hand at blackmail upon learning an illicit secret; a woman grapples with feelings of betrayal after discovering her spinster sister's pregnancy test; the ghost of a couple's past comes back to haunt them in the form of their toddler's stuffed toy. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWeaving the banal and bizarre together, \"Perabo's clear, wry sentences meld a prose style that's reminiscent of Raymond Carver's with a sensibility that's informed by \u003ci\u003ePeople\u003c\/i\u003e\" (\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e). Here, this \"literary talent\" (\u003ci\u003eThe Boston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e) captures the human condition through struggles that are quiet and grand; dark and provocative. Brilliantly crafted, \u003ci\u003eWhy They Run the Way They Do\u003c\/i\u003e is ultimately an homage to the philosophy that life without humor is no life at all.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePerabo, Susan:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - Susan Perabo is the author of the collections of short stories, \u003ci\u003eWho I Was Supposed to Be \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eWhy They Run the Way They Do\u003c\/i\u003e, and the novels \u003ci\u003eThe Broken Places\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Fall of Lisa Bellow\u003c\/i\u003e. Her fiction has been anthologized in \u003ci\u003eBest American Short Stories\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ePushcart Prize Stories\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eNew Stories from the South\u003c\/i\u003e, and has appeared in numerous magazines, including \u003ci\u003eOne Story\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eGlimmer Train\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Iowa Review\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Missouri Review\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Sun\u003c\/i\u003e. She is Writer in Residence and professor of English at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and on the faculty of the low-residency MFA Program at Queens University. She holds an MFA from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.","brand":"S\u0026s\/ Marysue Rucci Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50415678193938,"sku":"9781476761442","price":10.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_eac8d82d-a9be-4238-a815-ff9b2fba3086.jpg?v=1729409204","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/why-they-run-the-way-they-do-stories-9781476761442","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}