by Emily Austin
This story explores themes of grief, mental illness, executive dysfunction, and religiosity. We follow our main character, Gilda, as she desperately seeks mental healthcare from apathetic practitioners. An advertisement for free therapy leads her to a catholic church where she is inadvertently employed as a secretary. She successfully (and miserably) hides her identity as an atheist lesbian and embroils herself in a local murder mystery. Through her work Gilda tackles inward feelings of guilt, anxiety, and a deeply seeded fear of death. Emily Austin approaches these subjects with a healthy dose of humor which tempers the story’s heavy themes. With witty and poetic prose, she communes with anxiety-addled minds everywhere and bares their contents for all to see. The horrors persist, yet Gilda – and readers who find kinship through her story – remain silly. I loved it!!! 11/10!!!
reviewed by Alyna Karczmar
