The End of Youth — Rebecca Brown

"The End of Youth "is a collection of 13 linked stories, essays and rants, about carrying on after youth's hope is gone. In "Afraid of the Dark," a child learns that there is good reason to be afraid. The adolescent narrator of "Description of a Struggle" finds that love can be brutal. "The Smokers" -examines an adult's realization that longevity means seeing loved ones die. Written with the same spare and vivid beauty as her earlier award-winning works, "The End of Youth "is certain to win even wider acclaim.

Rebecca Brown is the author of "The Terrible Girls, Annie Oakley's Girl, The Gifts of the Body "and "The Dogs." She lives in Seattle.