Like songs on a concept album, each story in Heather Paul’s riveting Love and Other Disappointments stands alone and in conversation with the others. In this relatable, wry, and often darkly comedic collection, Paul manages to vacillate between sparse prose and lush description, employing tension and inventive metaphors to explore the emotional landscape of women at various stages of life and love. Each story asks the protagonist, and by proxy the readers, to grow, to become, and even perhaps to question expectations—both their own and the ones placed on them. An entertaining yet profound collection of short fiction for anyone who has ever loved, or been in love, and lived through the inevitable disappointment.

Heather’s natural curiosity and passion for authenticity and adventure has led to diverse paths of travel, education, and employment. After many years toiling at university, she camped, hosteled and hoteled her way through North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe. She has worked as a high school art teacher, a canoe and kayak trip leader, a yoga instructor, at a men's prison, at a women's shelter, and at an assortment of restaurants. She currently lives in Barrie, Ontario, and Safety In Bear Country is her debut novel.

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