From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of How Stella Got Her Groove Back and Waiting to Exhale comes a remarkable, career-spanning collection of short fiction and essays about love, aging, culture and all the things in between.
For the first time, a single volume brings together renowned author Terry McMillan’s previously published short fiction and nonfiction pieces, as well as never-before-seen works.
Before McMillan found success as a novelist in the early 1990s, she published provocative, boundary-pushing short stories, capturing the struggles and triumphs of Black life in America with vitality and honesty, from the workaday factory man’s malaise in “The End” to the cast-aside lover’s resolve in “Touching” to the elderly woman’s wiles in “Ma’Dear.” McMillan’s inimitable voice bravely explores the dark corners of human relationships with compassion, humor, and nuance. This collection also features five unpublished stories that reveal how she wrestled with controversial topics rarely addressed in short fiction, from domestic abuse in “Mama, Take Another Step” to extreme poverty in “Can’t Close My Eyes to It.”
Whether she’s revealing life lessons, pontificating about aging, recalling her sources of inspiration, or laying bare the beginnings of her life as a writer, McMillan approaches every piece with enduring candor, wit, and fearlessness.
Devoted fans and new readers alike will be delighted to discover these treasures spanning McMillan’s long, groundbreaking career. Indeed, it wasn’t only what Terry McMillan has said that made her so beloved . . . it was the way she said it.
Praise for It’s Not All Downhill From Here
“A wise and wisecracking novel of aging, heartbreak, and the quest to ‘pump up the volume’ in late midlife.”—O: The Oprah Magazine
“This is a story of the power of women and the inspiring lives they lead.”—She Reads
“McMillan proves once again that she is a skilled master.”—Associated Press
“Lively, perceptive . . . Terry McMillan writes with a staggering depth of feeling, credibly capturing the characters’ emotions as she unpacks their interpersonal conflicts. This delightful novel balances inspiration for renewal with the hard facts of aging.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review
Praise for I Almost Forgot About You
“The novel is so immensely companionable, and Georgia is as alive, complex, inquiring, motivated and sexy as any twenty-five-year-old. Maybe more so.”—The New York Times Book Review
“Self-discovery, second chances and the importance of family are thematic hallmarks of McMillan’s novels. . . . I Almost Forgot About You checks all the boxes.”—The Washington Post
“McMillan is funny and frank about men, women, and sex. Her summaries of Georgia’s marriages and major love connections . . . are powerful and poetic.”—USA Today
“Reading a Terry McMillan book feels like catching up with an old friend. . . . I Almost Forgot About You is a book that is important for readers of every age.”—Ebony
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of How Stella Got Her Groove Back and Waiting to Exhale comes a remarkable, career-spanning collection of short fiction and essays about love, aging, culture and all the things in between.
For the first time, a single volume brings together renowned author Terry McMillan’s previously published short fiction and nonfiction pieces, as well as never-before-seen works.
Before McMillan found success as a novelist in the early 1990s, she published provocative, boundary-pushing short stories, capturing the struggles and triumphs of Black life in America with vitality and honesty, from the workaday factory man’s malaise in “The End” to the cast-aside lover’s resolve in “Touching” to the elderly woman’s wiles in “Ma’Dear.” McMillan’s inimitable voice bravely explores the dark corners of human relationships with compassion, humor, and nuance. This collection also features five unpublished stories that reveal how she wrestled with controversial topics rarely addressed in short fiction, from domestic abuse in “Mama, Take Another Step” to extreme poverty in “Can’t Close My Eyes to It.”
Whether she’s revealing life lessons, pontificating about aging, recalling her sources of inspiration, or laying bare the beginnings of her life as a writer, McMillan approaches every piece with enduring candor, wit, and fearlessness.
Devoted fans and new readers alike will be delighted to discover these treasures spanning McMillan’s long, groundbreaking career. Indeed, it wasn’t only what Terry McMillan has said that made her so beloved . . . it was the way she said it.
Praise
Praise for It’s Not All Downhill From Here
“A wise and wisecracking novel of aging, heartbreak, and the quest to ‘pump up the volume’ in late midlife.”—O: The Oprah Magazine
“This is a story of the power of women and the inspiring lives they lead.”—She Reads
“McMillan proves once again that she is a skilled master.”—Associated Press
“Lively, perceptive . . . Terry McMillan writes with a staggering depth of feeling, credibly capturing the characters’ emotions as she unpacks their interpersonal conflicts. This delightful novel balances inspiration for renewal with the hard facts of aging.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review
Praise for I Almost Forgot About You
“The novel is so immensely companionable, and Georgia is as alive, complex, inquiring, motivated and sexy as any twenty-five-year-old. Maybe more so.”—The New York Times Book Review
“Self-discovery, second chances and the importance of family are thematic hallmarks of McMillan’s novels. . . . I Almost Forgot About You checks all the boxes.”—The Washington Post
“McMillan is funny and frank about men, women, and sex. Her summaries of Georgia’s marriages and major love connections . . . are powerful and poetic.”—USA Today
“Reading a Terry McMillan book feels like catching up with an old friend. . . . I Almost Forgot About You is a book that is important for readers of every age.”—Ebony
