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Joy Rides through the Tunnel of Grief  

Essays on love, wonder, and the fierce bonds between women.

“Stunning, hilarious, propulsive book--somehow breathless and thoughtful at once--that I'll remember the rest of my days...."

       —LESLIE JAMISON, author of  THE RECOVERING: INTOXICATION AND ITS AFTERMATH  and the THE EMPATHY EXAMS

“I didn't just read this book--I consumed it. Joy Rides through the Tunne of Grief is raw and fecund, heartbreaking, wise, wickedly funn, and razor sharp--one woman's brave and vulnerable navigationf of the daily pathos and joy that ultimately tells the story of the human condition. At times the sheer craft of [the] writing stopped my breath and made me immediately re-read a passage just so that I could experience it again."

—Emily Saliers, Indigo Girls

Jessica Hendry Nelson is the author of the new memoir Joy Rides Through the Tunnel of Grief, winner of the AWP Sue William Silverman Prize.   Her memoir, If Only You People Could Follow Directions (2014), was selected as a best debut book by the Indies Introduce New Voices program, the Indies Next List by the American Booksellers' Association, named a Best Book of the Year by Kirkus Review, received starred reviews in Kirkus and Publisher's Weekly, and reviewed nationally in print and on NPR—including twice in (O) Oprah Magazine.

"With meticulous craft and profound compassion, Kevin Clouther conjures this vibrant collection of connected stories of friends wrestling the ghosts of their past. Balancing heart and humor, Maximum Speed bears witness to the raw hope of youth and the bittersweet wisdom of age."

-Frances de Pontes Peebles, author of The Air You Breathe

"Moving effortlessly between humor and heartbreak, these stories add up, as in the best linked collections, to a rich and varied world of tenderness and beauty."

-Nathan Oates, author of A Flaw in the Design

"With artistry and heart, Kevin Clouther has written a superbly crafted collection of linked stories."

-Patricia Ann McNair, author of Responsible Adults

Kevin Clouther's second story collection, Maximum Speed, is forthcoming from Cornerstone Press in November 2023. He is the author of We Were Flying to Chicago: Stories (Catapult). He is an Associate Professor at the University of Nebraska Omaha Writer's Workshop, where he directs the MFA in Writing. He lives with his wife and two children in Omaha.