"Once upon a time there was a monster. This is how they tell you the story starts. This is a lie." Sometimes things are not what they appear to be. DNA doesn't define us, gravity doesn't hold us, a home doesn't mean we belong. From circus tents to space stations, Damien Angelica Walters creates stories that are both achingly familiar and chillingly surreal. Within her second short story collection, she questions who the real monsters are, rips families apart and stitches them back together, and turns a cell phone into the sharpest of weapons. brings together seventeen stories that delve deep into human sorrow and loss, weaving pain, fear, and resilience into beautiful tales that are sure to haunt you long after you turn the last page. "Once upon a time there was a girl ..." Featuring the following works: "Tooth, Tongue, and Claw" "Deep Within the Marrow, Hidden in My Smile" "On the Other Side of the Door, Everything Changes" "This is the Way I Die" "The Hands That Hold, the Lies That Bind" "Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys: The Elephant's Tale" "The Judas Child" "S Is for Soliloquy" "The Floating Girls: A Documentary" "Take a Walk in the Night, My Love" "Falling Under, Through the Dark" "The Serial Killer's Astronaut Daughter" "Umbilicus" "A Lie You Give, and Thus I Take" "Little Girl Blue, Come Cry Your Way Home" "Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice" "In the Spaces Where You Once Lived"