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How We See the Gray

How We See the Gray - Paperback

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Availability:In StockTheme:Demographic Orientation/Urban, Topical/Coming of Age, Topical/FamilyPublish date:5/15/2026Pages:296
Languages:EnglishPublisher:Curbstone PressISBN-13:9780810149892ISBN-10:0810149893UPC:9780810149892Book Category:FictionBook Subcategory:Family Life, City Life, LiteraryBook Topic:Parenthood & ChildrenSize:7.90 x 5.20 x 0.80 inchesWeight:0.318Product ID:SCDRATKG8S

A riveting story about parenthood, substance abuse, and the strength it takes to come back from our mistakes

Foster care is a disaster in Rockford, Illinois. Meredith, a social worker and single mom, is stretched beyond thin but determined to protect her kids: not only her son, but those on her caseload too. When the stress of the job has her breaking her sobriety, the foundations of her life begin to tremble. After drinking too much, she makes a mistake that puts her preschooler in jeopardy, and Meredith finds herself in a situation that mirrors her clients' as she loses custody of her son. In her fight to get him back, Meredith experiences the system from the outside--while still working for the kids inside of it. Set over the course of a year, this riveting documentary-esque novel is told from multiple perspectives, including those of case workers, birth parents, foster parents, and foster children. Written with the working-class humor and heart that defines the Midwest, How We See the Gray is a story about mistakes, second chances, and trying to do better in a system that seems doomed to fail.

Languages:EnglishPublisher:Curbstone PressISBN-13:9780810149892ISBN-10:0810149893UPC:9780810149892Book Category:FictionBook Subcategory:Family Life, City Life, LiteraryBook Topic:Parenthood & ChildrenSize:7.90 x 5.20 x 0.80 inchesWeight:0.318Product ID:SCDRATKG8S

RACHEL LEÓN has worked in the foster care system for nearly two decades. She serves as managing director for the Chicago Review of Books and fiction director for Arcturus. Her work has appeared in Catapult, The Rumpus, Electric Literature, Foglifter, Publishers Weekly, and elsewhere. She hails from Rockford, Illinois, and is the editor of The Rockford Anthology.


Publisher: Curbstone Press

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