This is the story of the Garrison family, who live in Lents, an outer neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. At the heart of it all, there are the three Garrison sisters: Sara, the eldest, a fiery soccer star on the precipice of pulling herself out of the life of poverty she’s always known; Elaine, shy and struggling with the weight she carries both physically and mentally; and Rachel, a reader and poet whose imagination stalls at trying to picture a better life.

As the Garrisons struggle to communicate with each other, as they battle self-doubts and self-sabotage, they too draw on a fierce shared strength that allows them to push back at the reality that’s been handed to them. Each Garrison fights to hold on to their dignity—often through daily acts of grace and good humor, to say nothing of quiet perseverance—and to prove to themselves and each other that they shouldn’t be underestimated.
 

Mark Pomeroy leads creative writing workshops in Portland Public Schools. He is author of The Brightwood Stillness, and a recipient of an Oregon Literary Fellowship for Fiction. He lives in Portland.