We Are Taking Only What We Need: Stories (Art of the Story)

I haven't completed it yet, but so far, I love the stories and unexpected elements in the short stories. Some of the stories would make excellent movies, or as a bunch a mini-series. I think this is a young author to follow, as she may well lead the pack of writers in the next decade.

Really liked these stories. Reminded me of how much I enjoy short stories.

The stories in this collection are generous with the reader, full of vivid, specific details that illuminate the characters, their lives, their joys, loves, and sorrows. A wonderful work of literary fiction to be savored.

The awards Stephanie Watts has already won for this collection speak for themselves. Beautifully written slices of life in rural North Carolina, featuring unforgettable characters. She's destined to go far

I know Stephanie. The author of this book. Her mother and I are friends, and I knew her as a girl. I am absolutely blown away by her talent as a writer. A true word smith. The book came promptly and was in good condition.

Terrible book. The short stories are way too aspect.

These stories demonstrate both the strength and weakness of the short story format: a brief glimpse into the world of the characters but no chance for resolution. Like the mostly young, poor, black and transient female characters in these ten stories, we are left with wanting more. We see the yearning, the frustration, the hope and the pain, the need for more, but we also see the self-destructive behavior, the lack of effective choices, and the ways that unhealthy relationships keep sucking you back into the vortex. But if that’s all you know, how do you find your way out? The stories are not all bleak; many wry observations hit home for all readers. Many hold out the hope that by moving on, something better surely must be waiting just ahead.

Ten stories about everyday people dealing with the intense emotions that come with death, divorce, change, betrayal, religion, and love. Nothing about any one of these stories is altogether phenomenal, but the beauty is in their simplicity. Their brutal realness.The ones that stood out the most, at least for me, were “Do You Remember the Summer of Love” and “Black Power”.The former is about a woman whose recently left her husband, after discovering he's been seeing (and presumably fallen in love with a man); she's struggling to figure out who she is in a world where her reality consists of a man who likely never loved her, and a life where she centered all she had around that love. The realization that she settled for a life, that turned out to be such a lie, has made her wonder if she can even trust herself anymore.The dialogue she has within herself, as well as with her unwitting (and a touch creepy) companion, speaks volumes as to how difficult it can be to fix yourself once you've discovered you're broken.The latter is much the same, only the woman in that particular story has already decided that settling is as good an option as any, given her choices; she dreams of something better being on the other side, but she hasn’t the motivation to seek it out.Each story offers the opportunity to reflect and discuss the thought process a woman goes through when making a decision about her happiness. You get a feel for just how hopeless and trapped one can feel when life doesn't seem to be playing fair—which is often the case.