In these powerful stories, What She Was Saying softens the already thin line between hope and hopelessness, between perseverance and despair, between what can and cannot be said. A finalist for the Katherine Anne Porter and Eludia book awards, as well as a semifinalist for Black Lawrence Press Hudson, Eastern Washington University Spokane, and Leapfrog Press book prizes, What She Was Saying gives voice to the lives we all need to hear.

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Early Praise for What She Was Saying:

From the ingenious title to the last story, What She Was Saying is a study of the gap between the covert and the overt. Alienation, isolation, desperation are here writ both small and large; their echo is a humanistic plea for inclusiveness, community, friendship, and simple love and kindness, one to another. Wonderfully crafted, honest, and bold, Marjorie Maddox's work always brings her readers to new levels of perceptiveness about the big picture as well as minute moments. --Sena Jeter Naslund, author of Ahab's Wife and The Fountain of St. James Court, or Portrait of the Artist as an Old Woman

This collection reveals a beguiling new voice in contemporary fiction. . . . Maddox s stories open up unexpected, little noticed corners of our world. . . . Some read like fables; some surprise with bold humor. All celebrate the mystery of the familiar, the strangeness of the ordinary, and the humanity of marginal lives. --Robert Morgan, author of Gap Creek

These are luscious stories, packed with unflinching honesty and the earthshaking kind of beauty that makes us brave. --Fiona Cheong, author of Scent of the Gods and Shadow Theatre

"What She Was Saying shows Maddox as a masterful and insightful storyteller..."-NewPages

"What She Was Saying, a finalist for the Katherine Anne Porter Award, delves into memory and desire, loss and longing, and the unexpected pathos of the commonplace. In these finely-wrought stories, Marjorie Maddox reveals the complex space between the spoken and the glimpsed unspoken in the lives of women....undeniably a vital and compelling collection. Her stories, full of humor and heartbreak, absurdity and terror, offer a window into the unarticulated lives of women" -Marcela Fuentes at Mom Egg Review

RECOMMENDED by US Review of Books: "Maddox has a gift for recapitulating the uncomfortable nitty gritty of life's circumstances as if it [were] common everyday language. . . .A definite read for those who are looking for an honest portrayal of life" -Anita Lock

"...Maddox's exploration. . .[is] stunning. . . .These stories do what good stories do, they promote empathy and understanding, which is something we could all use more of"-TTC

What She was Saying” is an evocative collection of stories observed through an uncompromising, realistic lens. Hope, religion, and despair echo throughout the pages. It’s a rainy-day, hot-cup-of-tea-in-hand kind of book. It’s the type of book that demands empathy and requests bravery" - Meghan Shiels at WPSU's BookMark

"...In What She Was Saying, Marjorie Maddox uses the tip of her pen to capture a series of vignettes that articulate life with all its spoken and unspoken panorama of the unexpected...." – Michele Morin at Living Our Days

"....What She Was Saying is all at once difficult to read and hard to turn away. Maddox puts words to the things we think or conjure without proof, sometimes with only the slightest of revelations. These stories bring to light the inner person, the humanity of us and displays how we may honor or dismiss them altogether. Haunting, yet strangely encouraging, I would urge the reading of these stories – they shed light on the human condition, the story of one’s life, and the cry to handle each with care" —Janna Lynas at Englewood Review of Books

 Author profile and interview about writing What She Was Saying as it appears in Literary Mama, conducted by Rhonda Havig.

“…A standout piece in the collection is "Exhibition." The story introduces 75-year-old Mae as she is making a sculpture of herself titled, "Self, Diving." The description of the creation process provides the reader a glimpse into the artist's heart and mind…The flow of these short stories, flash fiction pieces, and poems is smooth. Even though the pieces were written across decades, they were brought together in an order that makes them feel as if they were written in a much shorter timespan with an intentional stream of subjects. The seamlessness of the stories allows each piece to build on the one before, leaving the collection  stronger as a whole”—Rhonda Havig at Literary Mama

What She Was Saying seems particularly timely right now, as we discover all over again that to understand what women are saying, all we really have to do is stop and pay attention”—from “Can You Hear Me NOW?” by Seana Graham at Escape into Life