The subject of this first novel is home. All three of these women protagonists whose stories are told in alternating chapters, yearn for their home in West Virginia, as does the author herself, now living in Southern California. Cassidy is a sex-worker in Los Angeles. Jane got a job in D.C. for the FBI, and Paloma is a Fulbright scholar in Prague. “Spence Dobias beautifully explores the secrets and anxieties echoing through three generations of women wrestling with unexpected, life-altering choices. On Home will keep you thinking about how expectations and environment can shape women’s lives and what happens when they attempt to upend both.” – Cindfy Gueli. “Told with humor and heartbreak in equal measure, On Home is a complex portrayal of women’s work on the margins. Spence Dobias brings each woman in this novel, and their secrets. to luminous life. In prose that combines lyricism with a punk rock edge, On Home portrays the most surprising events with nuance and genuine insight. This book is a gem.” Mary Helen Specht.
Oakland, California: Inkshares, 2021. 406 pages. Trade paperback.