Adele Evershed’sWannabefrom Alien Buddha Press is an insightful and often painful novella-in-flash into the abuse that women often face and the way they live afterward. There are any number of ways that this work distinguishes itself, not the least of which is that it is a novella-in-flash that includes poetry. The prose of the book is clearly informed by the poetic language that moves the narrative and the points she is making as much as any other aspect of the work. This poetic sensibility along with her magical realism allow Evershed to understand what the women of her work are going through in a new way that I have not seen before.

Wannabeis often painful and difficult to read because of the intensity of what Evershed is exploring; however, her characters are real and ultimately, we are given a vision of how to go through these times…