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Save Me, Stranger: Stories
From Edgar Award-winning author Erika Krouse, a visceral, dazzling collection of stories set across the globe, about characters desperate for salvation.
Erika Krouse's Edgar Award-winning debut memoir, Tell Me Everything, was hailed by The New York Times Book Review as “lyrical, jarring, propulsive,” and The Washington Post as “mesmerizing on every page.” Now, with an electrifying new collection of stories, Save Me, Stranger, she further cements her reputation as an essential voice.
From the coldest town on earth, to a sex shop in Bangkok, to a haunted bed and breakfast in the Rockies, we meet characters at hinge moments. A runaway fights for her future while driving an ice cream truck in gang territory; a cleaning woman investigates the teenager who died in her stead; an Alaskan terminal patient discovers new life in helping others die. This collection explores the borderlands between humor and hurt, community and self, and hope and despair, redefining what it means to survive.
Scalpel-sharp, unsparingly funny, and achingly wise, Krouse's expansive stories build to unforgettable emotional catharses, as these men and women must decide how far they are willing to go to save each other—and themselves.
Erika Krouse's Edgar Award-winning debut memoir, Tell Me Everything, was hailed by The New York Times Book Review as “lyrical, jarring, propulsive,” and The Washington Post as “mesmerizing on every page.” Now, with an electrifying new collection of stories, Save Me, Stranger, she further cements her reputation as an essential voice.
From the coldest town on earth, to a sex shop in Bangkok, to a haunted bed and breakfast in the Rockies, we meet characters at hinge moments. A runaway fights for her future while driving an ice cream truck in gang territory; a cleaning woman investigates the teenager who died in her stead; an Alaskan terminal patient discovers new life in helping others die. This collection explores the borderlands between humor and hurt, community and self, and hope and despair, redefining what it means to survive.
Scalpel-sharp, unsparingly funny, and achingly wise, Krouse's expansive stories build to unforgettable emotional catharses, as these men and women must decide how far they are willing to go to save each other—and themselves.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published January 21, 2025
53 people are currently reading
6110 people want to read
About the author
Erika Krouse
11 books304 followersErika Krouse is a writer of fiction and nonfiction. Her upcoming short story collection, Save Me, Stranger, will be published by Flatiron Books in January 2025. Save Me, Stranger has been hailed as “a dozen little masterpieces,” by Adam Johnson, “remarkable” by Ann Beattie, and Louise Erdrich said, “Read these stories with a buddy, because someone will have to scrape you off the floor.” In a starred review, Kirkus calls the collection "a smart set of globetrotting, emotionally gripping stories," and Publishers Weekly says, "[Krouse] makes the thrill of new beginnings palpable."
Erika is also the author of Tell Me Everything: The Story of a Private Investigation: winner of the 2023 Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime, the Colorado Book Award, and the Housatonic Book Award. Tell Me Everything is also a New York Times Editors’ Choice, a Book of the Month Club pick, a People Magazine People Pick, named “Best Nonfiction of 2022” by BookPage and Kirkus Reviews, and “Best 10 Books of 2022” by both Slate and Jezebel.
Erika’s novel, Contenders, was a finalist for the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award, and appears in German with Aufbau-Verlag. Her previous short story collection, Come Up and See Me Sometime, won the Paterson Fiction Award, was a New York Times Notable Book of the year, and is translated into six languages.
Erika’s short fiction has been published in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Esquire.com, Ploughshares, One Story, The Kenyon Review, The Southern Review, Conjunctions, Colorado Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, The Iowa Review, Glimmer Train, Story, Boulevard, Crazyhorse, Cleaver, and Shenandoah. Her stories have been shortlisted for Best American Short Stories, Best American Nonrequired Reading, and the Pushcart Prize.
Erika teaches and mentors for the Lighthouse Book Project at the Lighthouse Writers Workshop in Denver, and is a winner of the Lighthouse Beacon Award for Teaching Excellence. www.erikakrouse.com.
Erika is also the author of Tell Me Everything: The Story of a Private Investigation: winner of the 2023 Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime, the Colorado Book Award, and the Housatonic Book Award. Tell Me Everything is also a New York Times Editors’ Choice, a Book of the Month Club pick, a People Magazine People Pick, named “Best Nonfiction of 2022” by BookPage and Kirkus Reviews, and “Best 10 Books of 2022” by both Slate and Jezebel.
Erika’s novel, Contenders, was a finalist for the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award, and appears in German with Aufbau-Verlag. Her previous short story collection, Come Up and See Me Sometime, won the Paterson Fiction Award, was a New York Times Notable Book of the year, and is translated into six languages.
Erika’s short fiction has been published in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Esquire.com, Ploughshares, One Story, The Kenyon Review, The Southern Review, Conjunctions, Colorado Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, The Iowa Review, Glimmer Train, Story, Boulevard, Crazyhorse, Cleaver, and Shenandoah. Her stories have been shortlisted for Best American Short Stories, Best American Nonrequired Reading, and the Pushcart Prize.
Erika teaches and mentors for the Lighthouse Book Project at the Lighthouse Writers Workshop in Denver, and is a winner of the Lighthouse Beacon Award for Teaching Excellence. www.erikakrouse.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews
May 1, 2025
how is this literally a rachel cusk cover...
anyway.
normally i write a mini-review for every short story when i read collections, but i just wrote the same thing for every one. here is that thing:
these are all interesting, or about interesting topics, but my appreciation ends there. without exception, i found the writing clunky and the characters flat. i thought the treatment of serious topics, again and again, was a bit one note. i wanted to dig deeper into every single one of these, and i remained at the surface.
it wore my patience, let's say that.
bottom line: wide-ranging in subject matter...and only in subject matter.
(2.5 / thanks to the publisher for the arc)
anyway.
normally i write a mini-review for every short story when i read collections, but i just wrote the same thing for every one. here is that thing:
these are all interesting, or about interesting topics, but my appreciation ends there. without exception, i found the writing clunky and the characters flat. i thought the treatment of serious topics, again and again, was a bit one note. i wanted to dig deeper into every single one of these, and i remained at the surface.
it wore my patience, let's say that.
bottom line: wide-ranging in subject matter...and only in subject matter.
(2.5 / thanks to the publisher for the arc)
March 24, 2025
Shortly after the pandemic, I joined Stitch, a social group for people over 50 years old. I had no idea what to expect but as relative newcomer to Seattle from Colorado, I thought Stitch would be a safe way to meet people. They put me through a clever verification process. Only a few weeks after I joined, the invisible Stitch administrators (I think they’re all in Australia) recruited me to be a “Pioneer” and help the even newer members in Seattle. I started getting texts from strangers. One was from a retired doctor. Her litany of complaints was a Help Desk’s worst nightmare. In her jumbled text, I felt the heat of her anger and desperation. She was alone, abandoned by everyone. Her physical limitations made her unable to participate in any of the activities in Stitch. This woman’s bitterness shocked me. What could I do to help this stranger? I made a feeble offer to go visit her but she didn’t answer me. So I passed her off to the Stitch administrator in the cloud. But her pain haunted me and motivated me to think deeply about our social connections.
So the theme of this collection of short stories “Save Me Stranger” resonated with me. How do we relate to strangers in desperate need of help?
I first met Erika Krouse when I signed up for her writing class held in an after-hours coffee shop in South Boulder around ten years ago. I was struggling to write stories based tiny snippets I got from my tight-lipped Japanese parents. The gulf of silence between my immigrant parents and myself seemed impossible to fill. Erika was unfailingly encouraging and helpful as our small group shared writing every week at that empty coffee shop.
At the time, I didn’t fully appreciate Erika’s talent because she seemed so ordinary on the surface. A pleasant-looking, soft-spoken young woman who always had something good to say about everyone’s writing. I think in her own memoir “Tell Me Everything: The Story of a Private Investigation”, she describes herself as a mild, innocent-looking woman who invited trust and confession. The topics of her memoir were so unexpected and traumatic that I found it hard to believe one person could write such brutal stories and yet be so nice.
So for these reasons, I was excited when I began reading her story collection. I wasn’t disappointed. Her stories in this collection are strange, amazing and gut-wrenching. The settings range from Siberia to Tokyo to Colorado. Good short stories are concentrated versions of real life. And deal with the questions I have of my own life. Erika’s stories took my breath away and forced me to stop after each one to just recover.
The first story “The Pole of Cold” takes place in the coldest place on earth. A small town near the Arctic Circle where a beautiful young woman is the mayor in place of her father who was killed by wealthy foreigners. Then a handsome stranger arrives - to save her or himself? I loved the details of this fantastic world as much as the problems of the characters. How does one deal with a stranger who can save you yet is also responsible for hurting you? The unexpected ending saves this story from becoming just another fairy tale.
Erika said she originally began writing these stories after a fellow writer killed himself the day before they were to meet. In her shock and grief, she wondered if she could have done or said something that would have saved him. She wasn’t as close to him as were his family but she still felt guilty. “Save Me Stranger” stories are about people who save strangers in extraordinary situations. In an interview with Book Public, Erika says she asked herself, “What do we owe each other? What do I owe you as a human being?… Some people are black holes of need. … How do you preserve yourself and yet help others at the same time?”
I especially loved the story The Standing Man, a story about a Tokyo ramen shop worker and the exhausted gaijin (the foreigner) intrigued by the ramen shop’s secrets. Erika has lived in Japan for years as I have, so we share this fascinating bi-cultural perspective. She accurately captures the intense closeness that grows between strangers in a foreign setting. When I visited Tokyo last year, I had similar intense encounters with a Japanese taxi driver, my Turkish-Japanese Airbnb host and a young American digital nomad. Somehow being both an Outsider and Insider made it easier for me to connect.
During these troubled times, I often think about what I can do. I have no power, no money, no influence. I’m past the age of attracting notice and maybe even falling in love. My kids are grown and busy with their own lives. I’ve already travelled around the world. The future grows shorter while the past looms large. The voices of ghosts grow louder in my head. All I can do is write, work part-time and post activities in Stitch. Simple things like walks through the museum or Scrabble games.
Most of the characters in Erika’s stories have suffered some terrible loss. As I talk to the older men and women in Stitch, I find that many have also lost something. Friends. A spouse. A parent. Children. Their purpose in life. If I am able to do something, even inadvertently, like the characters in Erika’s stories, I feel like I am saving a stranger. The stranger who is in all of us.
So the theme of this collection of short stories “Save Me Stranger” resonated with me. How do we relate to strangers in desperate need of help?
I first met Erika Krouse when I signed up for her writing class held in an after-hours coffee shop in South Boulder around ten years ago. I was struggling to write stories based tiny snippets I got from my tight-lipped Japanese parents. The gulf of silence between my immigrant parents and myself seemed impossible to fill. Erika was unfailingly encouraging and helpful as our small group shared writing every week at that empty coffee shop.
At the time, I didn’t fully appreciate Erika’s talent because she seemed so ordinary on the surface. A pleasant-looking, soft-spoken young woman who always had something good to say about everyone’s writing. I think in her own memoir “Tell Me Everything: The Story of a Private Investigation”, she describes herself as a mild, innocent-looking woman who invited trust and confession. The topics of her memoir were so unexpected and traumatic that I found it hard to believe one person could write such brutal stories and yet be so nice.
So for these reasons, I was excited when I began reading her story collection. I wasn’t disappointed. Her stories in this collection are strange, amazing and gut-wrenching. The settings range from Siberia to Tokyo to Colorado. Good short stories are concentrated versions of real life. And deal with the questions I have of my own life. Erika’s stories took my breath away and forced me to stop after each one to just recover.
The first story “The Pole of Cold” takes place in the coldest place on earth. A small town near the Arctic Circle where a beautiful young woman is the mayor in place of her father who was killed by wealthy foreigners. Then a handsome stranger arrives - to save her or himself? I loved the details of this fantastic world as much as the problems of the characters. How does one deal with a stranger who can save you yet is also responsible for hurting you? The unexpected ending saves this story from becoming just another fairy tale.
Erika said she originally began writing these stories after a fellow writer killed himself the day before they were to meet. In her shock and grief, she wondered if she could have done or said something that would have saved him. She wasn’t as close to him as were his family but she still felt guilty. “Save Me Stranger” stories are about people who save strangers in extraordinary situations. In an interview with Book Public, Erika says she asked herself, “What do we owe each other? What do I owe you as a human being?… Some people are black holes of need. … How do you preserve yourself and yet help others at the same time?”
I especially loved the story The Standing Man, a story about a Tokyo ramen shop worker and the exhausted gaijin (the foreigner) intrigued by the ramen shop’s secrets. Erika has lived in Japan for years as I have, so we share this fascinating bi-cultural perspective. She accurately captures the intense closeness that grows between strangers in a foreign setting. When I visited Tokyo last year, I had similar intense encounters with a Japanese taxi driver, my Turkish-Japanese Airbnb host and a young American digital nomad. Somehow being both an Outsider and Insider made it easier for me to connect.
During these troubled times, I often think about what I can do. I have no power, no money, no influence. I’m past the age of attracting notice and maybe even falling in love. My kids are grown and busy with their own lives. I’ve already travelled around the world. The future grows shorter while the past looms large. The voices of ghosts grow louder in my head. All I can do is write, work part-time and post activities in Stitch. Simple things like walks through the museum or Scrabble games.
Most of the characters in Erika’s stories have suffered some terrible loss. As I talk to the older men and women in Stitch, I find that many have also lost something. Friends. A spouse. A parent. Children. Their purpose in life. If I am able to do something, even inadvertently, like the characters in Erika’s stories, I feel like I am saving a stranger. The stranger who is in all of us.
October 24, 2024
This is a collection of brilliantly written, diverse and authentic short stories that kept my attention and was hard to put down.
Some of the stories are disturbing, most of them are heartbreaking, but nonetheless beautiful in its own way.
Some of the stories are disturbing, most of them are heartbreaking, but nonetheless beautiful in its own way.
February 23, 2025
I tore through this book in one evening, could not put it down! A collection of 12 short stories, each one unique, interesting, unpredictable, unsettling, devastating and beautiful in its own way. The only common thread is, in each story, someone is being saved by a stranger. I found it absolutely remarkable how much the author was able to flesh out characters and evoke so much emotions and reactions from each of the stories.
Despite being short stories, each one tackled heavy subject matters that may be triggering to some.
Despite being short stories, each one tackled heavy subject matters that may be triggering to some.
January 27, 2025
As is the case with most short story collections for me, some stories grabbed me less than others, but those that did were gripping, emotional, surprising and thought-provoking.
Krouse knows how to create characters that feel so real and alive, and their stories were original and made me root for them. Highly recommended!
Krouse knows how to create characters that feel so real and alive, and their stories were original and made me root for them. Highly recommended!
November 10, 2024
thank you to the publisher for my ARC! I’m not usually a huge reader of short stories; however, these stories really had a way of capturing both the beautiful and ugly parts of humanity
April 26, 2025
beautiful and compelling stories
May 8, 2025
These stories hit me like a punch to the gut, but in a good way. They range from bleak to utterly painful, with a hefty dose of dark humor mixed in.
May 26, 2025
Every single story was heartbreaking and beautiful. I absolutely loved reading this book.
June 8, 2025
12 interesting and intriguing stories about a variety of people.
June 19, 2025
Finally emerging from my literary coma.
I feel like someone's who hungry but doesn't know what they want to eat so I pick up a book of mini stories with a little bit of everything in it.
...but each short story only got mildly interesting right before it ended.
...and I think I wanted to cry but the feels felt underdeveloped 🤷🏻♀️
I feel like someone's who hungry but doesn't know what they want to eat so I pick up a book of mini stories with a little bit of everything in it.
...but each short story only got mildly interesting right before it ended.
...and I think I wanted to cry but the feels felt underdeveloped 🤷🏻♀️
December 5, 2024
Thank you to #NetGalley and #MacmillanAudio for this incredible collection of short stories. Notably, the narration was stellar -- Adam Ewer and Blair Baker brought the already rich, funny, and heartbreaking stories to life. I am often moved by great writing but not frequently to actual tears, Erika Krouse did just that (specifically on two separate stories). I've been reading a lot of speculative fiction lately (esp. short stories) and the twelve contained in this collection felt more rooted in "the believable" (as life can far out-weird fiction - especially these days). A haunted inn, settings so frigid i had chills just reading about them, questionable "miracles" in the lives of the terminally ill--all of these had elements of the fantastic though they did not feel that way.
These first person tales centered on characters in chaotic situations and/or tremendous life transitions -- many of them literally included life and death situations (for the character and/or for someone else). And not just chaotic transitions: issues such as assisted suicide, dark family secrets, abuse, poverty, addiction, and many other raw facets of human relationships (from the beautiful to the devastating). All of this content was effectively conjured via characters I really cared about (or, at times, despised).
Erika Krouse is such a talented writer and I'm now looking forward to reading her debut memoir. One of the greatest aspects of reading and reviewing ARCs is discovering talented, diverse voices I may have not been aware of. These are thrilling discoveries for me. The audiobook download did not provide the names of the 12 stories, so I went back, chapter by chapter, and noted them after finishing the book. What I found was how vividly and viscerally I remembered each one of those stories (and then listened again to four of them prior to writing this review).
I really loved this collection. I have three quotes bookmarked to tweet upon the book's release on 1.21.2025 but one so perfectly encapsulates the collection that I have to add it now: 'Pain is easy to understand until it's yours."
These first person tales centered on characters in chaotic situations and/or tremendous life transitions -- many of them literally included life and death situations (for the character and/or for someone else). And not just chaotic transitions: issues such as assisted suicide, dark family secrets, abuse, poverty, addiction, and many other raw facets of human relationships (from the beautiful to the devastating). All of this content was effectively conjured via characters I really cared about (or, at times, despised).
Erika Krouse is such a talented writer and I'm now looking forward to reading her debut memoir. One of the greatest aspects of reading and reviewing ARCs is discovering talented, diverse voices I may have not been aware of. These are thrilling discoveries for me. The audiobook download did not provide the names of the 12 stories, so I went back, chapter by chapter, and noted them after finishing the book. What I found was how vividly and viscerally I remembered each one of those stories (and then listened again to four of them prior to writing this review).
I really loved this collection. I have three quotes bookmarked to tweet upon the book's release on 1.21.2025 but one so perfectly encapsulates the collection that I have to add it now: 'Pain is easy to understand until it's yours."
February 5, 2025
Save Me, Stranger by Erika Krouse is a collection of 13 short stories. I like the occasional short story collection as a reset to my reading, and experiencing one in the first month of the year felt right - maybe I’ll read one annually in January.
While the collection includes a story specifically named Save Me, Stranger, the concept was woven through most, if not all, stories. It was interesting to look for the theme in each. One ends on a cliffhanger that would be interesting to discuss with a group of readers.
Each story was unique and a tale unto itself, even though I had plenty of questions about what happens next to the characters in each. I read this via audiobook, and having a female (Blair Baker) and male (Adam Ewer) narrator alternate stories helped set each apart in my mind.
The stories have a wide range of settings, and I was very surprised to discover a story that takes place in my city of Omaha which is portrayed realistically in a less-than-positive light.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio for pre-publication access to the audiobook. All opinions are my own.
While the collection includes a story specifically named Save Me, Stranger, the concept was woven through most, if not all, stories. It was interesting to look for the theme in each. One ends on a cliffhanger that would be interesting to discuss with a group of readers.
Each story was unique and a tale unto itself, even though I had plenty of questions about what happens next to the characters in each. I read this via audiobook, and having a female (Blair Baker) and male (Adam Ewer) narrator alternate stories helped set each apart in my mind.
The stories have a wide range of settings, and I was very surprised to discover a story that takes place in my city of Omaha which is portrayed realistically in a less-than-positive light.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio for pre-publication access to the audiobook. All opinions are my own.
January 19, 2025
REVIEW: save me, stranger: stories by erika krouse
#gifted - thank you @flatiron_books for offering to send this to me in exchange for an honest review! out January 21
a collection full of so much despair, yet a small interaction with a stranger can change so much, can give you the strength you didn’t know you had, the fight and resilience you had long buried, and the hope you were seeking all along.
krouse explores the many different sides to humanity, all of the stories are dark and heavy, some characters choosing to end their lives, preferring death over known pain.
some of these stories had me holding my breath and have stayed with me long after I finished.
my favorite stories: Jude; Wounds of the Heart and Great Vessels; The Standing Man; Save Me, Stranger; and North of Dodge
don’t sleep on this collection, I’ll be buying a final copy to add to my shelves
#gifted - thank you @flatiron_books for offering to send this to me in exchange for an honest review! out January 21
a collection full of so much despair, yet a small interaction with a stranger can change so much, can give you the strength you didn’t know you had, the fight and resilience you had long buried, and the hope you were seeking all along.
krouse explores the many different sides to humanity, all of the stories are dark and heavy, some characters choosing to end their lives, preferring death over known pain.
some of these stories had me holding my breath and have stayed with me long after I finished.
my favorite stories: Jude; Wounds of the Heart and Great Vessels; The Standing Man; Save Me, Stranger; and North of Dodge
don’t sleep on this collection, I’ll be buying a final copy to add to my shelves
January 28, 2025
This is a superb collection of short stories with the act of saving a stranger or being saved by a stranger as the intersecting theme. The characters were cleverly developed, complemented by intriguing plots and diverse contexts settings, from Alaska, Bangkok, New Mexico, Siberia, and many more. The stories evoked so many emotions - sadness, disbelief, heartbreak, fear, and hope.
This was a 5-star read for me. It was my first time reading Erika Krouse’s work, and I was completely captured by her clear, no-nonsense writing style. I am genuinely curious about how she was inspired to write each of these unique stories.
Many thanks for the ARC I received in a Goodreads giveaway. Publication date: January 21, 2025.
This was a 5-star read for me. It was my first time reading Erika Krouse’s work, and I was completely captured by her clear, no-nonsense writing style. I am genuinely curious about how she was inspired to write each of these unique stories.
Many thanks for the ARC I received in a Goodreads giveaway. Publication date: January 21, 2025.
January 31, 2025
I love reading short stories because it is like getting a sampler platter of an author's work. This collection explores how far people would go to save themselves and includes twelve very unique stories. The author is able to craft unfathomably bleak scenarios that I can't even begin to imagine what I myself would do if faced with the characters' situations. And do not doubt this author's ability to flesh out her characters in a remarkably genuine way in just a few pages.
Adam Ewer & Blair Baker did a great job with the narration of this audiobook. There were so many different ages, genders, and nationalities of characters in this book and they did a fantastic job on every single one.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the free audiobook. All opinions are my own.
Adam Ewer & Blair Baker did a great job with the narration of this audiobook. There were so many different ages, genders, and nationalities of characters in this book and they did a fantastic job on every single one.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the free audiobook. All opinions are my own.
December 19, 2024
This is a book of short stories, and I loved a lot of them. But the very first one was my favorite, The Pole of Cold. I think there is a story for anyone. All stories are different. The following quote from the synopsis pretty much sums it up. “This collection explores the borderlands between humor and hurt, community and self, and hope and despair, redefining what it means to survive".
This is perfect if you are on vacation, and just want to have a short story to read whenever you have down time.
This is perfect if you are on vacation, and just want to have a short story to read whenever you have down time.
June 9, 2025
Oh my goodness, this is an excellent collection of short stories! And I say that as someone who doesn’t usually like short stories; I prefer longer ones which allow more character, plot and setting development. Yet, this is my favorite fiction of 2025 so far (6 months into the year). My favorite stories were: The Pole of Cold, North of Dodge, and Save Me Stranger.
Erika Krause’s writing is incredibly descriptive. I’ve already requested her novel, Tell Me Everything, from my library. I hope it is just as good. I look forward to reading whatever she writes in the future.
Erika Krause’s writing is incredibly descriptive. I’ve already requested her novel, Tell Me Everything, from my library. I hope it is just as good. I look forward to reading whatever she writes in the future.
January 11, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Thank you @macmillan.audio for the ARC. This collection of 12 short stories is out January 21, 2025. I loved all of these stories. My favorite was The Pole of Cold. Some other favorites , The Standing Man, Jude, Fear Me As You Fear God, and the Blue Hole.
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July 8, 2025
Wow, a wonderful collection of stories to take you around the globe and into the shoes of someone else again and again, questioning your own bias and beliefs. Erika Krouse really sets the scene and mood, and for 10 or 20 pages you’re fully encompassed. My favorite story was “Eat My Moose” which broke my heart.
March 5, 2025
This book is a collection of short stories about people desperate for salvation and how far they are willing to go to save themselves and others. I really enjoyed each story and how different they all were.
August 23, 2025
4.5 This was a breath of fresh air. Each story was packed with thoughtful characters, engaging places, and ways to get the reader thinking. This was close to a five for me but there were three stories I just did not jive with.
January 6, 2025
Review to come.
March 10, 2025
I loved this book! I can’t stop thinking about the characters long after finishing. Each story is so very different and the writing is excellent!
March 16, 2025
A brilliant collection, beautifully written. Didn’t want it to end.
September 25, 2025
No complaints about any of these stories, but the ones that seem to stick with me are: ‘fear me as you fear good’, ‘jude’, and ‘save me, stranger’.
January 9, 2025
save me, stranger by erika krouse 🚶🏻♂️ a short story collection that explores the borderlands between humor and hurt, community and self, and hope and despair, redefining what it means to survive.
an assemblage of twelve short stories that showcase the beautiful and ugly parts of humanity. my favorites were:
❄️ the pole of cold
🍦 north of dodge
✍🏻 save me, stranger
🍜 the standing man
👻 fear me as you fear god (my fav!)
despite the obsure settings, (think driving an ice cream truck in gang territory, the literal coldest town in the world, a haunted bed and breakfast in the rocky mountains and a sex shop in bangkok- just to name a few) don’t be fooled as these stories contain heavy topics!
all twelve stories end pretty abruptly so expect that before diving in & be sure to check the content warnings!
how far are you willing to go to save another person… or yourself? thank you macmillan audio for the early copy 🎧 2.5 stars!
an assemblage of twelve short stories that showcase the beautiful and ugly parts of humanity. my favorites were:
❄️ the pole of cold
🍦 north of dodge
✍🏻 save me, stranger
🍜 the standing man
👻 fear me as you fear god (my fav!)
despite the obsure settings, (think driving an ice cream truck in gang territory, the literal coldest town in the world, a haunted bed and breakfast in the rocky mountains and a sex shop in bangkok- just to name a few) don’t be fooled as these stories contain heavy topics!
all twelve stories end pretty abruptly so expect that before diving in & be sure to check the content warnings!
how far are you willing to go to save another person… or yourself? thank you macmillan audio for the early copy 🎧 2.5 stars!
Read
January 2, 2026first book of 2026. struck by the author’s range and imagination. bringing her to do a library event at the branch where i work later this year, and i’m realizing now she’s the second mentee of lucia berlin we’ll have hosted since i started here
December 25, 2025
Like many short story collections, some strong ones here, some pretty good ones, and one or two I could skip. But the title story is one of the best I’ve read in a while.
December 3, 2024
**Review of *Save Me, Stranger* by Erika Krouse**
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
*Save Me, Stranger* is an exceptional collection of short stories, each exploring the theme of salvation—whether it's saving oneself, helping another, or escaping the grip of abuse. Far from the typical "Happily Ever After," these stories are a powerful testament to human resilience, highlighting the strength it takes to survive and the transformative impact of small acts of change.
The collection spans diverse settings: from the cold expanses of northern Siberia to the fast-paced streets of Tokyo, from a small-town American hotel to the heartbreaking tourist traps in Thailand. These stories are not just about survival but also the deep, lasting influence of kindness and intervention that alters lives in unexpected ways.
Erika Krouse’s writing is compelling, and the audiobook narrators do a fantastic job of bringing the stories to life, making the emotions feel raw and real. This is a book that will resonate long after the final page. I highly recommend it, both for its gripping storytelling and its insightful look at the complexity of human relationships and resilience.
It would be an excellent choice for book clubs, offering plenty of material for discussion. I’m grateful to NetGalley for the ARC and happy to provide this honest review. *Save Me, Stranger* is a collection I will revisit again.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
*Save Me, Stranger* is an exceptional collection of short stories, each exploring the theme of salvation—whether it's saving oneself, helping another, or escaping the grip of abuse. Far from the typical "Happily Ever After," these stories are a powerful testament to human resilience, highlighting the strength it takes to survive and the transformative impact of small acts of change.
The collection spans diverse settings: from the cold expanses of northern Siberia to the fast-paced streets of Tokyo, from a small-town American hotel to the heartbreaking tourist traps in Thailand. These stories are not just about survival but also the deep, lasting influence of kindness and intervention that alters lives in unexpected ways.
Erika Krouse’s writing is compelling, and the audiobook narrators do a fantastic job of bringing the stories to life, making the emotions feel raw and real. This is a book that will resonate long after the final page. I highly recommend it, both for its gripping storytelling and its insightful look at the complexity of human relationships and resilience.
It would be an excellent choice for book clubs, offering plenty of material for discussion. I’m grateful to NetGalley for the ARC and happy to provide this honest review. *Save Me, Stranger* is a collection I will revisit again.
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