Rabid and Other Stories is a collection of short prose set in small-town Missouri exploring wealth inequality, family relationships, and toxic masculinity through the lens of rural America. The characters in these thirteen stories navigate a patriarchal society, personal trauma, and economic instability. But more than any other theme, these stories explore a culture in which boys are taught to value strength over emotion, a value system that normalizes violence and suppresses vulnerability. In the title story, “Rabid,” a mother struggles to protect her family from a perceived threat, but her husband meets her concerns with dismissiveness and gaslighting. In “Cold Feet,” women live in the shadows of their husbands. The narrator must decide on the eve of her wedding whether to continue this cycle or make a drastic change that could devastate those she loves. In “Overnight,” an impoverished teenage girl becomes embroiled in the cycle of violence and revenge that overtakes her town in the aftermath of September 11th. In these stories, among others, women deal with the consequences of the patriarchy. Other stories in this collection explore how this culture affects boys and men. In “Navy Man,” silence and fear define a father-son relationship. When the narrator’s father dies, he’s left grappling with the questions he never asked. In “The Mouse,” a husband is overwhelmed by the stress and anxiety of his wife’s difficult pregnancy. Unable and unwilling to deal with his emotions in a healthy way, he loses control. And in “The Other Day,” a grown man looks back on a close male friendship from his childhood, lamenting the loss of someone he loved dearly. In Rabid and Other Stories, the causes and consequences of toxic masculinity are explored through the lives and experiences of rural characters. This collection is not a condemnation of the people in these communities but instead a repudiation of cultural norms that are prevalent throughout the United States, a country that all too often teaches young men to prioritize strength to the detriment of themselves, their neighbors, and the people they love.
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