Man and woman collide time and time again, with alcohol and violence (a troubled coupling, too) often tearing at the relationships in this unflinching collection. Brown shines a brutal light on his subjects but offers unusual rewards for those readers who are willing to look unblinkingly along with him.

From tennis shoes to high heels to slippers, our shoes say something about us. McCorkle explores how the women in those shoes pull themselves up—even without bootstraps—and keep moving forward, from divorcing their longtime husbands to finding the perfect prince to finding themselves.

Gwyn explores the small space between faith and doubt, sin and self-delusion, when a young faith healer arrives in Perser, Oklahoma, a town whose citizens include a preacher who fakes speaking in tongues, a grandmother who tries to make her grandson famous, and a man who plummets from a drilling rig.

The misunderstandings and secrets kept by the residents of this close-knit Mexican American neighborhood in California come to shape their lives. This fresh and dazzling collection unravels the truth about home and belonging: you always live with its history.