How Clarissa Burden Learned to Fly [Paperback]

How Clarissa Burden Learned to Flyis the transcendent story of a young woman who, in a twenty-four hour period, journeys through startling moments of self-discovery that lead her to a courageous and life-altering decision.Connie May Fowler is an essayist, screenwriter, and novelist. She is the author of five novels, most recentlyThe Problem with Murmur Lee, and a memoir,When Katie Wakes. In 1996, she publishedBefore Women Had Wings, which became a paperback bestseller and was made into a successful Oprah Winfrey Presents movie. She founded the Connie May Fowler Women With Wings Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to aiding women and children in need. In this novel by best-selling author Fowler (The Problem with Murmur Lee), past and present lives collide in magical and violent ways with surprising, liberating, and redeeming results. The colorful characters include an almost-angel, carnival dwarves, and anthropomorphic animals, and the result is folksy and sophisticated, and humorous yet at times grave and appalling, with the sins of the past clearly depicted. VERDICT A seductive and thoroughly satisfying read. Library Journal In this magical, funny, at times heartbreaking book, Connie May Fowler has shown us that even a house fly can have a point of view. Compact and enchanting, yet achingly dark, it reminds me of the novels of Alice McDermott and Alice Hoffman that I love to read. Now Fowler gives us a mid-summer's night dream of her own!

-Mary Morris, author ofRevenge A huge-hearted, ebullient novel about ghosts, tragedy, love, redemption and one extraordinary woman's wild ride to self-discovery. Blazingly original, the remarkable Fowler breaks your heart, makes you believe in love, and whispers unbreakable truths about who we are really meant to be.

-Caroline Leavitt, author ofGirls in Trouble