About the book
Longlisted for the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Short Story Collection
Winner of the Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Fiction, If the Body Allows It is divided into six parts and framed by the story of Marie, a woman in her thirties living in Newark, New Jersey. Suffering from a chronic autoimmune illness, she also struggles with guilt over the overdose and death of her father, whom she feels she betrayed at the end of his life. The stories within the frame—about failed marriages, places of isolation and protection, teenage mistakes, and forging a life in the aftermath—are the stories the narrator writes after she meets and falls in love with a man whose grief mirrors her own. If the Body Allows It explores illness and its aftermath, guilt and addiction, and the relationships the characters form after they’ve lost everyone else, including themselves.
Introspective, devastating, and funny, If the Body Allows It grapples with the idea that life is always on the brink of never being the same again.
Editions of If the Body Allows It
- Paperback
- ISBN 9781496222831
- EBook
- ISBN 9781496223067
- EBook
- ISBN 9781496223074
- EBook
- ISBN 9781496223050
Read an Excerpt
Longlisted for the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Short Story Collection
Winner of the Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Fiction, If the Body Allows It is divided into six parts and framed by the story of Marie, a woman in her thirties living in Newark, New Jersey. Suffering from a chronic autoimmune illness, she also struggles with guilt over the overdose and death of her father, whom she feels she betrayed at the end of his life. The stories within the frame—about failed marriages, places of isolation and protection, teenage mistakes, and forging a life in the aftermath—are the stories the narrator writes after she meets and falls in love with a man whose grief mirrors her own. If the Body Allows It explores illness and its aftermath, guilt and addiction, and the relationships the characters form after they’ve lost everyone else, including themselves.
Introspective, devastating, and funny, If the Body Allows It grapples with the idea that life is always on the brink of never being the same again.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is If the Body Allows It about?
Longlisted for the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Short Story Collection
Winner of the Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Fiction, If the Body Allows It is divided into six parts and framed by the story of Marie, a woman in her thirties living in Newark, New Jersey. Suffering from a chronic autoimmune illness, she also struggles with guilt over the overdose and death of her father, whom she feels she betrayed at the end of his life. The stories within the frame—about failed marriages, places of isolation and protection, teenage mistakes, and forging a life in the aftermath—are the stories the narrator writes after she meets and falls in love with a man whose grief mirrors her own. If the Body Allows It explores illness and its aftermath, guilt and addiction, and the relationships the characters form after they’ve lost everyone else, including themselves.
Introspective, devastating, and funny, If the Body Allows It grapples with the idea that life is always on the brink of never being the same again.
What core themes, tropes, or subjects are explored in If the Body Allows It?
Fiction > Fiction / Literature / Comics / Graphic novels: special features > Short stories
Where can I read a sample of If the Body Allows It?
You can read an official preview of the few pages here https://www.book2look.com/book/9781496222831
Is If the Body Allows It part of a series, and can it be read as a standalone?
Yes it is a part of series The Raz/Shumaker Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Fiction
Who is/are the Author/s of the book If the Body Allows It?
Megan Cummins
Who is the Publisher of the book If the Body Allows It?
Nebraska
What are the ISBN numbers for the physical and digital editions?
If the Body Allows It is available as paperback(ISBN 9781496222831) and ebook(ISBN 9781496223067) and ebook(ISBN 9781496223074) and ebook(ISBN 9781496223050)
Where can I buy If the Body Allows It online or support local independent bookshops?
You can buy If the Body Allows It from below
Where can I buy If the Body Allows It?