Small Spaces between Emergencies

by Alison Moore

Small Spaces between Emergencies explores the ways people find the strength to plunge back into life after pain and trauma. In "Turnaround, " Ed, who has fled from life's responsibilities, arranges to meet Jonas, the young son he has not seen in six years. Although they meet at the Greyhound terminal like strangers, Ed and Jonas emerge triumphant from their past, teaching each other the patience and self-assurance to trust their respective roles as father and son. In "Leaving by the Window, " Matty and her father drive from state to state, traveling through the landscape of memories that make up her father's life. To escape his quixotic tales of the past, she runs away, seeking her own adventures. When her father comes to retrieve her, she tells him her stories, but leaves out the pain and humiliation she endured. As they realize that there are stories they cannot share, both reach a new level of understanding and acceptance. These stories capture the process of rediscovery that is the essence and the adventure of living and growing. They are affirmations of the triumph of the human spirit in a world of adversity.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

184 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Born in Manchester in 1971, Alison Moore lives next but one to a sheep field in a village on the Leicestershire-Nottinghamshire border, with her husband Dan and son Arthur.

She is a member of Nottingham Writers’ Studio and an honorary lecturer in the School of English at Nottingham University.

In 2012 her novel The Lighthouse, the unsettling tale of a middle-aged man who embarks on a contemplative German walking holiday after the break-up of his marriage – only to find himself more alienated than ever, was shortlisted for the Man Booker prize.