The Resurrection of Joan Ashby

Book excerpt: “[A] stunning debut . . . reminds me of my most favorite authors: J. D. Salinger, Carson McCullers, Truman Capote, Joan Didion.” —A. M. Homes, winner of the Women’s Prize for Fiction Kirkus Reviews’s Best Fiction of 2017 Booklist’s Top 10 First Novels: 2017 The New York Times Book Review’s Editors’ Choice Indie Next Pick for September 2017 Bustle’s 9 Fall Book Debuts by Women You’re Going to Want to Read Immediately Nantucket Magazine’s 7 for September 2017 Entertainment Weekly’s Thirteen Books to Read in August San Diego Magazine’s Your Book Shelf: 5 Books to Read in August I viewed the consumptive nature of love as a threat to serious women. But the wonderful man I just married believes as I do—work is paramount, absolutely no children—and now love seems to me quite marvelous. These words are spoken to a rapturous audience by Joan Ashby, a brilliant and intense literary sensation acclaimed for her explosively dark and singular stories. When Joan finds herself unexpectedly pregnant, she is stunned by Martin’s delight, his instant betrayal of their pact. She makes a fateful, selfless decision then, to embrace her unintentional family. Challenged by raising two precocious sons, it is decades before she finally completes her masterpiece novel. Poised to reclaim the spotlight, to resume the intended life she gave up for love, a betrayal of Shakespearean proportion forces her to question every choice she has made. Epic, propulsive, incredibly ambitious, and dazzlingly written, The Resurrection of Joan Ashby is a story about sacrifice and motherhood, the burdens of expectation and genius. Cherise Wolas’s gorgeous debut introduces an indelible heroine candid about her struggles and unapologetic in her ambition.