ASW: Good afternoon, Lara. It is great to have the chance to visit with you about your latest novel, Shadow of the Taj. This book addresses the hot-button issue of human trafficking of children, and one Western woman’s determination to help one child caught in a web of child prostitution. How did you come to write […]
“Retarded Girl Raised in Dog Pen,” by Lauren Leigh
Reviewed by Amy Susan Wilson Disabilities, a family murder, Mississippi, a mental institution, and the spirit of redemption all appear in Lauren Leigh’s debut novel, Retarded Girl Raised in Dog Pen. Every chapter, while often bearing brutal abuse in the household of a rural Mississippi family, rings like a bell, clear and resonant with no […]
November Read of the Month: “The White Bird,” by William Bernhardt
Reviewed by Amy Susan Wilson Entering William Bernhardt’s debut poetry collection, The White Bird, is entering into the heart of human community. Always rich, often humorous, and at times poignant, these poems, which are diverse in style, guide us through the maze of parenting, longing, loss, working, traveling, and, among other things, falling in and […]