Summary

The novel is written from 31-year-old Casey Peabody's first-person point of view, and is set in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The novel is broken into untitled, unnumbered, chapter-like sections.

In this first excerpt, Casey tries focusing on her writing and ignoring thoughts of her ex Luke, and her recently-deceased mother. She walks her landlord, Adam's dog. She lives in the potting shed on his property. Adam knew her older brother Caleb in college; he takes money off Casey's rent for walking the dog.

After little success with her writing, she heads to her waitress job at a social club, Iris. It is summer; the students are gone and the park is filled with her favorite geese. Casey likes working at Iris. Sometimes the environment is misogynistic and frustrating, but she has a few friends there. The work also helps her stop thinking about her mother...