Perris, California: A Novel

'A glorious debut... it will rouse your deepest well of empathy.' - Adriana Trigiani, bestselling author of The Good Left Undone 'This novel will live alongside classics of young womanhood.' - Susan Straight, author of bestsellers Mecca and In the Country of Women In this unforgettable debut novel, twenty-seven-year-old Tessa, pregnant with her third child and living in a trailer on her mother-in-law's property, encounters the woman she used to love - leading Tessa to question the very foundations of the life she's built... Abandoned first by her father and then her mother, as a girl Tessa is left to live with her abusive stepfather and stepbrother. She survives by finding reserves of strength in herself, and by the surprising, transformative love of another teenage girl, Mel, who sees through Tessa's tough exterior to the vulnerable, scarred, loving woman inside. When she suddenly loses Mel, too, Tessa stumbles into a saving grace of a different kind with Henry and his mama, Angie, becoming a mother and finding herself in a familial existence that somehow carries her into adulthood - until the day she runs into Mel, who has just returned to Perris after years away. Filled with tragedy, tenderness, longing, and the unvarnished courage of women living in a mostly unseen America, Perris, California is the utterly gripping story of Tessa's journey from trauma to healing, and it introduces us to one of the most indelible female characters since Bone Boatwright in Dorothy Allison's Bastard Out of Carolina or Ruth Langmore in Ozark.'You and me, we didn't have it so easy, did we, Mama?' Tessa blinked, and tears rolled down her cheeks. She wiped at them with her sleeve and nodded some. 'Now that I've come to understand how complicated and painful life can be, I don't hold nothing against you. Not even your leaving. I don't blame you one bit, because now I believe in my heart you must have been trying your best in your own way. I think mamas are mostly always trying their best. It just looks different depending on the cards they are dealt and the hurt they are holding.'

Stark captures female solidarity, a shared maternal understanding, and the sacredness of keeping each other's secrets...This agonizingly sad novel nevertheless rejoices in small acts of loving...An extraordinary debut that insists that we can - and must - mend each other., Rachel Stark's beautiful debut novel is a gripping portrayal of generational trauma suffered by women living in rural poverty. But this heartbreaking story is ultimately one of healing and hope as she reminds us of our capacity for forgiveness and understanding., Some stories grab you, shake you to the core, and never let you go, demanding you to stare into the heart of human depravity and resilience. Other stories capture you by stealth, quiet beauty unfolding in ordinary moments... Harrowing, evocative, and deeply moving, Perris, California does both. , Stark debuts with an emotionally charged portrait of two women's painful family histories and their uneasy reunion in California's Inland Empire... Fans of Dorothy Allison or Pam Houston ought to seek this out., Perris, California is a glorious debut from the magnificent Rachel Stark who writes from the soul when she is not writing from the heart...This is not only a story of trauma and survival, it will rouse your deepest well of empathy and have you rooting for a woman you may have never met. You will know her now, in this dazzling debut., Stark captures female solidarity, a shared maternal understanding, and the sacredness of keeping each other's secrets...This agonizingly sad novel nevertheless rejoices in small acts of loving...An extraordinary debut that insists that we can - and must - mend each other., Rachel Stark's beautiful debut novel is a gripping portrayal of generational trauma suffered by women living in rural poverty. But this heartbreaking story is ultimately one of healing and hope as she reminds us of our capacity for forgiveness and understanding., Some stories grab you, shake you to the core, and never let you go, demanding you to stare into the heart of human depravity and resilience. Other stories capture you by stealth, quiet beauty unfolding in ordinary moments... Harrowing, evocative, and deeply moving, Perris, California does both. , Stark debuts with an emotionally charged portrait of two women's painful family histories and their uneasy reunion in California's Inland Empire... Fans of Dorothy Allison or Pam Houston ought to seek this out., Perris, California is a glorious debut from the magnificent Rachel Stark who writes from the soul when she is not writing from the heart...This is not only a story of trauma and survival, it will rouse your deepest well of empathy and have you rooting for a woman you may have never met. You will know her now, in this dazzling debut.

Rachel Stark grew up in Perris, California. She received her bachelor's degree in creative writing from University of California, Riverside, and her master's degree in creative writing at University of California, Davis. She currently resides in southern Colorado, where she writes, runs mountain trails and teaches yoga.