It's not Going to Kill You, and Other Stories

Erin Flanagan is a professor of English at Wright State University and the author of the short-story collection The Usual Mistakes, available in a Bison Books edition.

• AcknowledgmentsIt's Not Going to Kill YouThe Good NeighborDog PeopleI Don't Live in This TownFront and CenterA Possible StoryThe Summer of CancerFeather the NestThe Winning TicketA Democrat in NebraskaThe Only Thing That Can Take YouAll I Want Is YouSource Acknowledgments

"Smart, lively, and full of skillful turns, It's Not Going to Kill You, and Other Stories offers a poignant and unforgettable look at who we are when we have to face the complicated and necessary ways in which we all matter to one another."—Lee Martin, author of the Pulitzer Prize finalist The Bright Forever "Erin Flanagan's haunting stories sneak up on you with their sensory, sometimes startling images that ground you in the lives of her flawed but striving characters. . . . Flanagan also pulls off beautifully what I'd begun to suspect perhaps couldn't be done—'Feather the Nest' is the first 9/11 story that makes sense to me."—Katrina Kittle, author of The Blessings of the Animals "With compassion, humor, and graceful writing, Flanagan explores the themes of lost opportunities, missteps, and miscommunication, and the search for one's place in the world. As the stories unfold, hidden emotions are revealed so that no one . . . is quite who he or she seems to be. The stories' conclusions are immensely satisfying, and the characters will continue to reverberate long after the reader finishes the book."—Ann Weisgarber, author of The Personal History of Rachel DuPree "There's no voyeurism in these stories. Flanagan's characters sit right next to you and tell you everything, even the details they don't realize are all too personal, too private."-Greg Baldino, Booklist