On the Outskirts of Normal: Forging a Family Against the Grain (Crux: The Georgia Literary Nonfiction) - Softcover

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After moving to a humble cottage outside of a tiny Texas town, Debra Monroe rids herself of an abusive husband, battles sexist contractors and workers as she renovates her home, and finally, after several disheartening letdowns, is able to adopt her beautiful baby daughter, Marie. Though elated that her dream is coming true, Monroe faces trials that befall her not just as a single mother but as a white mother of a black child. InOn the Outskirts of Normal, two-time National Book Award nominee Monroe s heart creaks like china with hairline cracks each time a racist comment rolls their way or stares linger a little too long in their direction. Though she and her daughter face serious undiagnosed illnesses, Monroe remains steadfast in her dedication to Marie and their small but tight family.

Reading On the Outskirts of Normal at times feels like driving through a thunderstorm at night on the unlit country roads that snake their way to Monroe s house in the woods; readers will feel her exhaustion but will be buoyed by her ever-present faith and fiery love. Pulitzer Prize winner Madeleine Blais writes that On the Outskirts of Normal is the real deal: both a literary triumph and a triumph of the heart.

If On the Outskirts of Normal were a country song, Lucinda Williams would sing it. In this graceful, disquieting and intensely felt account, Monroe offers the story of how she became the mother she needed to be not to Marie, who in Monroe always had a fine mother, but for herself, so she could finally have and keep what she deserved.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

DEBRA MONROE teaches in the MFA Program at Texas State University. She is the author of several books, includingMy Unsentimental Education and The Source of Trouble (winner of the Flannery O Connor Award).

Cover design: Kaelin Chappell Broaddus

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Includes Book Club Discussion Questions

The University of Georgia Press

Athens, Georgia 30602

www.ugapress.org

ISBN 978-0-8203-4911-4