Black Tie Optional: 17 Stories
The women in Black Tie Optional are caretakers—daughters, wives, sisters, teachers, and neighbors—whose dreams lie in wait. A fish seller meets God when she dies; a daughter picks out a pink casket for her deceased mom; a woman with Alzheimer’s believes she is related to Clint Eastwood; and a recently engaged woman shares tales with her fiancé about growing up with a blind father.
Through these unvarnished tales, Carrie poses one looming question – Are you choosing to live life as a burden or a journey?
Praise for Black Tie Optional
From start to finish, these are bold, surprising, brilliantly crafted stories. Carrie Knowles is a master of the short story and this is a book to celebrate.
-Elaine Orr, author, Swimming Between Two Worlds
The women in Black Tie Optional are caretakers--daughters, wives, sisters, teachers, and neighbors—whose dreams lie in wait. Written in elegant prose, this collection illuminates the ironic distance between what women do and what women want—and the quiet decisions that change everything.
-Kayann Short, author, A Bushel’s Worth: An Ecobiography
Carrie Jane Knowles takes her reader on a fascinating journey, revealing captivating characters who maneuver their way through unique situations. In these seventeen well-drawn stories, a fish seller meets God when she dies; a daughter picks out a pink casket for her deceased mom; a woman with Alzheimer’s believes she is related to Clint Eastwood; and a recently engaged woman tells her fiancé about growing up with a blind father. Knowles creates multi-dimensional characters in few words. She is an engaging and original storyteller.
-Maureen Sherbondy, author, The Slow Vanishing