Short stories have a way of connecting readers to characters’ backstories, hopes, desires, and even misfortunes in less than 20 pages. A well-written short story can leave some readers wanting more, and others content with where it ended. What Makes You Think You’re Supposed to Feel Better by Jody Hobbs Hesler explores the human condition across nearly every walk of life, pulling readers along for an emotionally complex journey.
Characters in the collection find themselves in strange, hopeful, and heartbreaking situations. While seemingly unremarkable at first, their stories are deeply-felt all the way through. As the title implies, readers won’t find happy endings here. But that doesn’t mean it’s all doom-and-gloom. Quite the opposite.
Hesler wrote these stories with compassion and respect for the subject matter at hand. Possible content warnings include suicide, infertility, alcoholism/substance abuse, animal cruelty, child abduction, bigotry, sexism, and abortion. Even though it might be heavy for some readers, I promise it’s worth it.
Here are my favorites among the 17 stories included in this collection:
- Alone
- Sorry Enough
- Heart Blown Through
- Regular English
- Trespassing
- Damage
- Grown-Up Party
What Makes You Think You’re Supposed to Feel Better is available now.
