Shelf Life of Fire

Rachel, a middle-aged novelist and university professor in North Carolina, finds herself in a downward spiral when she learns that her brother Dennis, from whom she’s been estranged for decades, is dying. The news brings back memories she has long repressed.As she reflects on how early trauma changed the trajectory of her life, Rachel remembers her youth and begins to rethink her role as a woman, a daughter, a wife, and a mother, reexamining the life she’s found herself living.At times, Rachel's attempts to mine her own complicated past and to weave her memories into the fabric of her professional and creative work are laugh-out-loud funny; at other times, they're painful, though always off-beat and deeply intimate.

Rachel, un romancier de varsta mijlocie si profesor universitar din Carolina de Nord, se afla intr-o spirala descendenta cand afla ca fratele ei Dennis, de la care este instrainat de zeci de ani, moare. Stirile ii aduc amintiri pe care le-a reprimat de mult. Pe masura ce reflecteaza asupra modului in care trauma timpurie si-a schimbat traiectoria vietii, Rachel isi aminteste de tinerete si incepe sa isi regandeasca rolul de femeie, fiica, sotie si mama, reexaminand uneori, incercarile lui Rachel de a-si extrage propriul trecut complicat si de a-si tese amintirile in tesatura muncii sale profesionale si creative sunt amuzante de ras; alteori, sunt durerosi, desi mereu neintrerupti si profund intimi.