The Immersion Library

You grow wild in lonliness like mine.

A beautifully reckless writer who, like an unapologetic exhibitionist, exposes every complexity of a flawed soul. Stafford engrosses me with her language, her vocabulary, and the depth into which she reaches violently for vulnerability, a raw nerve to grope. Others enthrall readers with exciting plots and twists. Before anything happens, Stafford grips the hairs on the back of your neck and says, “Listen!”

Isolation, loneliness, separation…and persistence! These themes permeate every story here collected. And Stafford refuses to shy away from the various complex forms these themes infest within our lives. How does one feel lonely among a throng of elitist east-coasters? How does one feel separated by a single wall and desire? How does one feel isolated when desperately wanted? Stafford doesn’t explore like an artist seeking to understand. She finds that artist roaming a mountainside in Adams, CO and says, “Look no further! Let me give you a piece of my mind.”

The collection begins with a somewhat youthful – yet wildly talented – tone of cynicism and sarcasm. The reader might appreciate how she recites what they already think. Or they might cringe at her verbosity and candor. But as the stories progress, the reader will begin to see the maturation – though not necessarily a change – in her tone and feeling. She begins to introduce elements of a biographical nature, perhaps. Her writing becomes cathartic, a means to cope and negotiate with her entrapment when all other means fail; to yearn for escape and fulfillment at the other end of a debilitating road.

No peace. No resolution. The freedom of escape means the chase by her demons; it means stumbling in a mutilated stupor through a world of invaders and the throes of her own self-depricating will; feeling callous and crass for wanting what she needs. What is outside the trap? Perhaps simply herself.

An amazing read, as short stories go. A rare and audacious voice; exquisitely crafted. And shamelessly flaunted. Persist.