Charlatan: A Novel

by Keli Catalano, Loda Pizzato, K.V. Taylor (Editor)

All teenagers think their family's the worst. Mom's embarrassing community service work, awkward holidays split between parents' homes, school and siblings and a small town where nobody gets you. The only thing more confusing is the early twenties. Fumbling through college and into a half-baked career, looking for love with the emotionally unavailable, even the legally unavailable--as in married.

But these early potholes and pitfalls can't prepare Keli for what comes next: her mother's bout with cancer. With a gripping voice full of candor, humor, and heartbreaking sincerity, Charlatan tells the story of one woman shaking off the false life she thought she needed and realizing what's really important. Love, like the love her mother lived.

175 pages, ebook

First published July 2, 2012

Reviews

[KV Taylor]

I'm lucky to know and adore the author--and to have known and adored her mother. This book is pretty gut-wrenching, difficult at times for its honesty, but utterly unflinching. It's a hell of a journey, and I definitely recommend it for people dealing with a serious illness in their family.

I can't star it, obviously, since I did some editing for it. But I wouldn't have wanted to work on it if I didn't think it was brilliant--and important.