Lisa (she pronounces it "Lies-Ah," not "Lease-Ah" ) Alther is clearly one of a handful of the most accomplished contemporary Appalachian authors. She burst onto the American literary scene in 1976 with her novel Kinflicks, set in her hometown of Kingsport, Tennessee. It was a huge best-seller, and literary critics loved it. In recent years she has expanded into non-fiction books while continuing to pursue fiction. This is her second novel, set in Vermont where she has lived much of her life. It tells the story of the relationship between a psychiatrist and one of her patients. The San Francisco Chronicle called this book "powerful, tender and wry...Alther's genius as a novelist is her ability to capture and juxtapose the odd combinations of personality, gender, class, culture, family life and chance that shape human destinies."
New York: Knopf, 1984. Hardback in dust jacket.