“Exquisitely written, this is a debut with precise maturity, a necessary and timely story.”
“…Hesler captures the way memory weaves itself inextricably through the present.”
“…Heartfelt, redemptive, and compassionate novel.”
“…A moving and tender debut novel.”
“…As intricately composed as it is deeply moving.”
“…A masterful storyteller, both honest and hopeful.”
About the book
Noreen, twenty-seven, is the same age as her beloved Aunt when she committed suicide.
When Noreen was little, she had a special connection to her Aunt Nonie, her namesake and kindred spirit. They seem to understand each other in a way that no one else can. But what Noreen is too young to understand is that her aunt is spinning out of control, her grasp on reality slipping, her alcohol use accelerating, her personal life in shambles. Noreen’s mom, Nonie’s sister, tries to help—jobs, housing, counselors—but she’s not getting better.
The only thing Nonie can hold onto is her niece, who she loves more than anything in the world. But when Noreen is playing on a tire swing under Nonie’s supervision there’s an accident, sending Noreen to the hospital and Nonie into a spiral from which she will not recover.
From that day in 1980 to the last months of 1999, Noreen’s life spirals around the axis of Nonie’s suicide, tightening the past’s pressure on the present.
Now an adult, Noreen finds herself a young mother trapped in a marriage with a controlling, manipulative husband. Or is she? She is haunted by the memory of her aunt, and she is afraid her own grasp on reality slipping away.
Without You Here is about generational trauma, mental illness, sloppy family dynamics, dangerous marriages, and the beautiful, redemptive nature of affection and love. In the end Noreen is left to ask: Will her life forever be defined by her aunt? And can she stop history from repeating itself?
A portion of the proceeds from Without You Here will go to The Suicide Prevention Awareness & Resource Council (SPARC) is a group of concerned citizens, professionals, and partner agencies who convene with a common goal of reducing the number of suicides in five counties in the Charlottesville, Virgina area.
Resources
While this novel is a work of fiction, the problems its characters struggle with are very real.
If you or anyone you know is contemplating suicide, please call 988, or the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) hotline: by phone 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or by texting TALK to 741741.
Support is also available for family members and friends of those lost to suicide at American Society for Suicide Prevention (afsp.org) or at Alliance of Hope (allianceofhope.org).
For anyone in an abusive relationship, please contact the National Domestic Violence hotline for confidential support at 1-800-799-7233.
About the author
Jody Hobbs Hesler lives, writes, and teaches in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. She is the author of the story collection What Makes You Think You’re Supposed to Feel Better from Cornerstone Press, and her words also appear in Necessary Fiction, Gargoyle, Valparaiso Fiction Review, Atticus Review, Writer’s Digest, Electric Literature, CRAFT, Arts & Letters, and many other journals. She teaches at WriterHouse in Charlottesville, Virginia; writes and copy edits for Virginia Wine & Country Life and Charlottesville Family Magazine; and serves as assistant fiction editor for the Los Angeles Review.
