A Kind of In-Between
Aaron Burch is both nostalgic and looking forward to what's to come, all while trying to enjoy the present as much as possible. A Kind of In-Between looks at the last few years of Aaron's life (getting divorced, teaching, being a writer, settling into life in the Midwest in his 40s) and also back to his childhood (being adopted, an almost obnoxiously happy and loving childhood, growing up on the West Coast), in curious, playful snapshots that become a whole greater than the sum of their parts. These short essays are about growing up and memory; who Aaron is and who he wants to be; road trips and home and collectibles and family and friendship; how he sees himself, how he wants others to see him, and all the overlaps and incongruencies therein; being a stepfather and son and child and adult and husband and ex and teacher and writer and friend; the things we keep and the things we let go; how to try to make sense of being a person in this world.
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"Reading this amazing collection is like looking through a microscope: Through its lens, we see magic in a series of slides, each illuminating one small moment and celebrating its glorious complexity. In earnest, unpretentious prose, Burch dazzles and delights. My heart grew larger as I read, and I lifted my eyes from the page to a world that was familiar, but newly expanded and wondrous."
-Siân Griffiths, author of The Sum of Her Parts
"In A Kind of In-Between, Aaron Burch applies his keen and charming attention to the still-unfolding story of himself, making visible the rhyming movements of his mind and heart across time and space. Powered by his ever-present wit and infectious joy, Burch's essays mine the past to bring its power into the present, offering up nostalgia as a mode of memory through which we might more clearly see and inhabit the ongoingness of life."
-Matt Bell, author of Appleseed
"Aaron Burch's A Kind of In-Between is an extraordinarily powerful book-a beautiful meditation on aging and memory and the difficulty of letting go of the past, on the relationship between who we once were and who we still have time to be. These essays are luminous, profound, and brilliantly original. I loved everything about this book."
-Andrew Porter, author of The Disappeared
"A Kind of In-Between is a best friend of a book. It has enormous heart and humor. It's generous with its confessions and open-minded with its questions. Burch's playfulness with form also makes each short essay a game and a surprise. The perfect companion for vacations and staycations and the small precious window of reading time on a quiet weekend morning."
-Jac Jemc, author of Empty Theatre and False Bingo
"A Kind of In-Between is a road trip in essays that perfectly captures the way past, present, and future touch when you leave your old life behind with only a vague idea of where you're going. Aaron Burch's prose is full of introspection and epiphanies, while always making time for the spontaneous detour that reveals, when you least expect it, the unbounded beauty of the world."
-Kevin Maloney, author of The Red-Headed Pilgrim
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