Just Don't Ask Us What We Do All Day: Stories

For fans of Curtis Sittenfeld and Katherine Heiny, a comic and incisive collection of linked stories about women unraveling under the weight of politeness, partnership, and performative perfection.

“Formally inventive, expertly crafted, and alive with a generous sense of humor, Just Don't Ask Us What We Do All Day is storytelling at its best.” —Lee Cole, author of Fulfillment

A woman hires a date for her ex’s wedding; another asks a new lover to pose as her daughter’s kidnapper; a third experiments with a sex puppet. A support group for those seeking meaning in dreams spirals into a sapphic obsession. Across fourteen interwoven stories brimming with gasp-worthy reveals, Just Don’t Ask Us What We Do All Day shines a spotlight on the women we ask too much of and the quiet, absurd ways they refuse to comply. Equal parts hilarious and surprising, joyful and defiant, this kaleidoscopic collection offers a rare look into the unknowable lives of strangers from a major talent in short fiction.