Things That Are

Essays by a Whiting Award winner: “Like a descendant of Lewis Carroll and Emily Dickinson . . . one of the most exciting and original writers in America.” —Yiyun Li, author of Must I Go Things That Are takes jellyfish, fainting goats, and imperturbable caterpillars as just a few of its many inspirations. In a series of essays that progress from the tiniest earth dwellers to the most far-flung celestial bodies—considering the similarity of gods to donkeys, the inexorability of love and vines, the relations of exploding stars to exploding sea cucumbers—Amy Leach rekindles a vital communion with the wild world, dormant for far too long. Things That Are is not specifically of the animal, the human, or the phenomenal; it is a book of wonder, one the reader cannot help but leave with their perceptions both expanded and confounded in delightful ways. This debut collection comes from a writer whose accolades precede her: a Whiting Award, a Rona Jaffe Award, a Best American Essays selection, and a Pushcart Prize, all received before her first book-length publication. Things That Are marks the debut of an entirely new brand of nonfiction writer, in a mode like that of Ander Monson, John D’Agata, and Eula Biss, but a new sort of beast entirely its own. “Explores fantastical and curious subjects pertaining to natural phenomena . . . for those interested in looking at the natural world through the lens of a fairy tale, this is a bonbon of a book.” —Kirkus Reviews

Still adjusting to being blind, Alicia must outwit an invisible man who is putting her family and her boyfriend, who was once invisible himself, in danger.

A fantastic assemblage of rude, lewd, barbarically-brutish, and crude poetry that I have deliberately, rigorously, precisely-meticulously, and thoughtfully plopped on paper for you, her, that guy over there, and your ugly neighbor in the tree who keeps peeking into your window while you shower. I will attest, swear, and verify that you will be disgustingly tickled and as soon as I climb down from this tree, I will do the same!

Arnold Heeney had a distinguished career in the service of the government of Canada – as secretary to the cabinet, undersecretary of state for external affairs, ambassador to the North Atlantic Council, twice ambassador to the United States (1953-7 and 1959-62), and co-chairman of the International Joint Commission. His career in public administration began in 1938 when he left a growing law practice to become principal secretary to Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King. Two years later he was appointed secretary to the cabinet, the first to hold this office, and for nine years, from 1940 to 1949, he kept the minutes and the secrets of the government of Canada. His memoirs recall his years of service; they form a lucid, modest, illuminating, and entertaining account of value to historians, political scientists, and other citizens interested in the workings of government. The first former mandarin to write his memoirs. Arnold Heeney sheds light, from intimate vantage points, on policy processes over thirty years as well as on a large cast of characters, domestic and foreign.

3 Things so special to God that His divine purposes and plans are centered around them.

Helen Houston has navigated the Texas turf as well as the terrain of family fracture and lost spirituality but it is the message behind the occasional chance for healing that is poignantly conveyed throughout her first collection of short stories. A mother travels to New York and finally sees the foolishness of imposing expectations on her grown daughter; a discouraged child in an unhappy home is bucked up by a friend; an aunt shares her wisdom that life is a progression to spiritual truths with a nephew who is hungry for her advice; and a young woman finds renewal of spirit while fulfilling a promise to spread her best friend's ashes. In contrast, Houston shares the stories of others live in befuddlement like the man who continuously drives the 610 Loop around the city of Houston with the help of a beer and the right music while viewing the skyline from just about every perspective. The eclectic characters in Placed Among Things That Are Passing Away not only offer their compelling life experiences, but also inspirational lessons in fortitude, perseverance, and unconditional love.