It's Hard to Tell You This

Michael’s father didn’t leave much behind, but he did leave an ancient tape recorder That device sparks something in Michael, a need to take stock of his own thoughts. Turning the recorder on, Michael begins to speak. About the loves he lost. The women he hurt. Each memory spools out of him and onto the tape, raw and unedited. FROM THE FINALIST FOR THE 2023 PAGE TURNER AWARDS, AND THE AUTHOR OF PLAYTIME’S OVER Michael’s father didn’t leave much behind. A handful of battered paperbacks, a few family photos, and an ancient tape recorder - the scattered remains of an old man’s empty life. But that tape recorder sparks something in Michael, a need to take stock of his own thoughts. His memories. His regrets. Turning the recorder on, Michael begins to speak. About the loves he lost. The girls who slipped away. The women he hurt. Each memory spools out of him and onto the tape, raw and unedited. As the recorder fills with Michael’s confessions, his days grow longer, his relationships stranger, his shelves emptier. And Michael finds himself on the precipice of an ending…