Listen for the Lie: A Novel

I find my dress on the floor, and my underwear in the living room. It’s ripped, so I toss it in the trash on my way out.

Fuck, he reminds me of my father. Wonderful. My therapist is going to love this.

It was a real dick move on Grandma’s part to be born in August.

An insult doesn’t have the intended impact when spelled incorrectly.

Trust me, there’s no pleasing people. If they’re determined to think the worst of you, they will.

Well, not strange, exactly. Typical. Men always believe each other.

“The only person who ever protected me was Savvy.”

“Is there a woman in this town who hasn’t hooked up with Colin Dunn? Even your mother slept with him.”

“My life vastly improved once both those men were gone. Men don’t protect us, not really. They only protect themselves, or each other. The only thing men ever protected me from was happiness.”

People don’t believe women who fight back. When a man lashes out, people say he’s lost control of his temper or made a terrible mistake. When a woman does it, she’s a psychopath.