More of This World or Maybe Another
by Barb Johnson

More of This World or Maybe Another is a collection of award-winning stories about four outsiders whose unruly lives intersect on the back streets of New Orleans. From the rural Gulf Coast to a rough-and-tumble neighborhood known as Mid-City, the stories in More of This World or Maybe Another pulse with an anxious inner life set down in the chaos of the street. Closely linked tales introduce readers to teenaged Delia, who experiences first-love jitters atop an oil storage tank where she tries to work up the nerve to kiss a girl. Dooley's music career takes off when he moves to the city, but some devastating news points to divorce and an impulse buy ends in tragedy. A sensitive alcoholic named Pudge survives his fat-boy childhood with an abusive father and then hides out from his own son, Luis. On the eve of his confirmation, the fatherless Luis drugs his mother's boyfriend. It is a Mid-City laundromat that serves as home base for this cast of powerfully drawn characters who must all unite to save Luis from a violent end. Funny and haunting by turns, Johnson's unforgettable characters are driven by something fragile and irresistible, a sputtering drive to love and be loved. —From Harper Collins' Reading Guide.

Join Barb, AROHO's fifth Gift of Freedom winner, as she hosts a Book Club discussion about her collection of short stories on AROHO's Book Club Blog. The discussion begins Monday, January 11, 2010; simply follow the link to join in. In the meantime, become a fan of More of This World or Maybe Another on its FB page.

Visit AROHO's Store and send a signed copy of More of This World or Maybe Another as a gift!

• Fun Home: An American Tragicomic

• American Smooth
• What to Eat, What to Drink, What to Leave for Poison

• And She Was
• One For Sorrow, Two For Joy

• Once in a Promised Land

• Jezebel
• Without a Map