Short Synopsis
Thirty-six major contemporary writers examine life in a deeply divided America—including Anthony Doerr, Ann Patchett, Roxane Gay, Rebecca Solnit, Hector Tobar, Joyce Carol Oates, Edwidge Danticat, Richard Russo, Eula Bliss, Karen Russell, and many more.

Full Synopsis
America is broken. You don't need a fistful of statistics to know this. Visit any city, and evidence of our shattered social compact will present itself. From Appalachia to the Rust Belt and down to rural Texas, the gap between the wealthiest and the poorest stretches to unimaginable chasms. Whether the cause of this inequality is systemic injustice, the entrenchment of racism in our culture, the long war on drugs, or immigration policies, it endangers not only the American Dream but our very lives.

In Tales of Two Americas, some of the literary world's most exciting writers look beyond numbers and wages to convey what it feels like to live in this divided nation. Their extraordinarily powerful stories, essays, and poems demonstrate how boundaries break down when experiences are shared, and that in sharing our stories we can help to alleviate a suffering that touches so many people.

"The prose throughout is top quality, and readers drawn by the famous writers involved will also enjoy discovering authors previously unknown to them." ---Publishers Weekly

"Urgent, worthy reportage from our fractious, volatile social and cultural moment." ---Kirkus

"A thought-provoking compilation that one will consider long after turning the last page." ---Library Journal

"An absolute must-listen. . . . Narrators Teri Schnaubelt and Corey Snow alternate selections and smoothly transition between personal stories and those that are more journalistic." ---AudioFile