A WOMAN, A PLAN, AN OUTLINE OF A MAN

A series of deeply personal and thought-provoking essays explore moments in a woman’s life, from high school rebellion to domestic violence and sexual assault.

“On the Edge of Seventeen,” the first of 13 vivid writings by debut author Kasbeer, captures a poignant period of her adolescence when rebellion crossed over into danger; in it, she tells of visiting her high school boyfriend in prison. Multiple essays unravel the repercussions of a rape that occurred when the author was 23. In “Lovers” this unraveling comes through therapy and a relationship with a kind and helpful partner while the titular essay investigates the therapeutic value of released rage. Other writings examine Kasbeer’s contention that the condition of having “one foot in childhood and another in adolescence is truly terrifying.” “The Diving Well” is one of these, capturing the uneasy exhilaration of testing one’s physical strength and courage in a female body on the brink of adulthood as well as a central truth about skill and talent: “I had no idea being good at something would come with such pressure to always be better.” In “Stuck in a Water Well,” Kasbeer juxtaposes her unsatisfying relationship with her mother and the plight of orphaned elephants, and in “Everyone Gets a Dog,” she reveals an appealing vulnerability, using hand puppets as “part pet, part entertainment, and part mental health apparatus.” The essays aren’t arranged chronologically, and they often reveal different viewpoints of the same incident. Taken as a whole, the works present a cogent portrait of a girl traveling the road to womanhood. Many readers will find the delights and hazards of this journey to be very recognizable, and Kasbeer depicts them both with astuteness and compassion, using incisive language that captures broad truths from intimate experience. Some observations—such as “All anyone really wants is to be seen and heard, and yet we avoid seeing and hearing others every day,” and “Nothing in life can be truly taken back”—will resonate deeply, long after the last essay is read.

A satisfying collection of writings about growing up and recovery.