Into the Wilderness — David Harris Ebenbach

The award-winning collection Into the Wilderness, winner of the Fiction Award from the Washington Writers' Publishing House, explores the theme of parenthood from many angles: an eager-to-connect divorced father takes his kids to a Jewish-themed baseball game; a lesbian couple tries to decide whether their toddler son needs a man in his life; one young couple debates the idea of parenthood while another struggles with infertility; a reserved father uses an all-you-can-eat buffet to comfort his heartbroken son. But the backbone of the collection is Judith, who we follow through her challenging first weeks of motherhood, culminating in an intense and redemptive baby-naming ceremony. Honest. True. Emotionally-resonant short stories.