The Other Side of Youth

Kelli Deeth's female protagonists confront the emotional complexities of marriage, childlessness, adoption, adolescent longing, friendship, and death; they mourn the loss of youth while grappling with the uncertainties of adulthood. In "Vera’s Room," a woman who is unable to conceive negotiates a tense relationship with the seven-year-old girl she and her husband have adopted. In "Embrace," Theresa, a young woman who has just had an abortion decides to give up on sexual desire and settle with a