Take What You Need — Idra Novey

In her most powerful book yet, award-winning writer Idra Novey has conjured a novel of "astonishing and singular" honesty (Rumaan Alam) with two determined, unforgettable female voices.

Set in the Allegheny Mountains of Appalachia, Take What You Need traces the parallel lives of Jean, and her beloved but estranged stepdaughter, Leah. As Leah's world has widened, she has grown further away from Jean, missing her stepmother's hard-won insights and lack of inhibition. 


When a young man notifies Leah of Jean's sudden death and of the metal sculptures Jean began welding late in life, Leah rushes back with her young family, regretting her choice to drop all contact with the maternal figure she's now lost.


With vigor and mordant humor, Idra Novey zeroes in on the joys and difficulty of family, the ease with which we let distance mute conflict, and the power we can draw from creation. 


Passionate and resonant, Take What You Need explores the vulnerabilities, strengths, and shifting desires that women experience, and what can be built from what others have discarded -- art, unexpected friendship, a new contentment of self. This is Idra Novey at her very best.