Also by Caitlin Hamilton Summie
Winner — 2019 Phillip H. McMath Post Publication Book Award
In these ten elegantly written short stories, Caitlin Hamilton Summie takes readers from WWII Kansas City to a poor, drug-ridden neighborhood in New York, and from the quiet of rural Minnesota to its pulsing Twin Cities, each time navigating the geographical boundaries that shape our lives as well as the geography of tender hearts, loss, and family bonds. Deeply moving and memorable, To Lay To Rest Our Ghosts examines the importance of family, the defining nature of place, the need for home, and the hope of reconciliation.
Preview at The Millions
Interview on Bloom
Hungry for Good Books
Centered on Books
Beth Fish Reads Booksie’s Blog
Chapter 16
St. Paul Pioneer Press
The Vail Daily
Bill Wolfe - “Six Impressive Collection”
Awoken by Erdrich - Essay by Caitlin on Beatrice.com
Article in Sun Current
Starred Review - Foreword
“. ..her stories reach into the hidden places of the heart and break them open to healing light, offering a touch of grace and hope of reconciliation. ”
“What is remembered; what is missed; what will never be again… all these are addressed with the tenderness of a wise observer whose heart is large enough, kind enough, to embrace them all without judgement… intense and finely crafted….her stories reach into the hidden places of the heart and break them open to healing light, offering a touch of grace and hope of reconciliation.”
About the Author
Caitlin Hamilton Summie earned an MFA with Distinction from Colorado State University, and her short stories have been published in Beloit Fiction Journal, Wisconsin Review, Puerto del Sol, Mud Season Review, and Long Story, Short. She spent many years in Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Colorado before settling with her family in Knoxville, Tennessee. She co-owns the book marketing firm, Caitlin Hamilton Marketing & Publicity, founded in 2003.
Praise
“…To Lay to Rest Our Ghosts is nothing short of magnificent. After reading “Tags,” the vivid and powerful opening story, I thought Well, this is a smart writer—she’s obviously led off with her best. Then I found that if anything I liked the next story even better, and by then I knew I was reading something special. These stories are realist fiction at its finest. The author’s sense of place is extraordinary, and it informs every word she writes. Her characters are as real as anybody you know in the town where you live, and their lives are depicted with quiet dignity. The stories are both intense and economical. I’ve gotten very hard to please, but I love this book.”
—Steve Yarbrough, author of The Realm of Last Chances
“Beautifully crafted, Caitlin Hamilton Summie’s short story collection is a lyrical elegy about loss and love, family and home. Her writing reminds me of the grace and sensitivity found in stories by Ann Beattie and Elizabeth Street. I can’t wait to introduce To Lay To Rest Our Ghosts to Gramercy Books customers!”
—Linda Kass, Owner, Gramercy Books and author of Tasa’s Song
