Description: "From the New York Times bestselling author, a collection of stories driven by complex female protagonists confronting the myriad emotions of the human experience"-- Provided by publisher.
Brief description: Julie Schumacher is the author of eleven books, including the national bestseller Dear Committee Members, winner of the Thurber Prize for American Humor. Schumacher's other works include two short story collections, a satirical coloring book, and five novels for young readers. Her essays and stories have appeared in The Atlantic, The New York Times, Ms., The Wall Street Journal, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and in The Best American Short Stories and The O. Henry Awards annual anthologies. She is a Regents Professor at the University of Minnesota, where she has received multiple teaching awards and has been recognized as a Scholar of the College. She lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Review Quotes:
"Schumacher shows her incredible range in this short-story collection. . . . There are many darkly comic scenes, but throughout, there is also an almost claustrophobic and often unspoken pressure on each character, as Schumacher expertly explores their fully formed psychological depth in this master class on short-story writing."--Booklist, starred review
"Delightfully humorous... Strikingly original. Schumacher's talent shines in this masterful collection."--Library Journal, starred review
"Stories as funny as they are dark."--Kirkus Reviews
"Patient, Female is a brilliant and moving collection."--Debra Ginsberg, Shelf Awareness
"With the perfect blend of dark humor and compassion for her characters, Schumacher writes of the absurdity of the human experience."--Literary Hub, "Most Anticipated Books of 2026"
"Patient, Female tells these stories with care and understanding. Schumacher's women will not let themselves stay down; they show us how to lift ourselves up and climb back."--Chicago Review of Books
"Thoughtful and intimate, [these stories are] effective at capturing the kinds of introspective thoughts that preoccupy women but too often remain unarticulated."--The Book Reporter
"An audacious short story collection . . . Schumacher's story collection is fresh, hilarious, dark, and upsetting all at once, making it a uniquely dynamic read."--Minnesota Women's Press
"Smart and humming with life, Julie Schumacher's Patient, Female is the book I have been waiting to read. These stories are tender and witty, beautifully crafted, the kind of work that makes a person marvel at the long and messy experience of a life well lived. What a wonder! I deeply loved this collection."--Kristen Arnett, author of Mostly Dead Things
"Patient, Female is shrewd, sage, and so darkly funny--what a treat to take a break from this world and go spend time in Julie Schumacher's."--Claire Lombardo, author of The Most Fun We Ever Had
"Julie Schumacher offers more of her signature wisdom and sharp eye for telling situations in these thirteen stories of contemporary life. Her people are robust and failing, wise and off the mark, yet they all move through compelling situations and maneuver crossroads toward a new beginning that the reader can imagine beyond the last line. Everything about these stories is expert--I read them with deep pleasure and satisfaction."--Alice Elliott Dark, author of Fellowship Point
"In turns, profoundly unsettling and slyly funny, Patient, Female explores the kaleidoscope of ways humans relate to each other--as parents, children, spouses, siblings, lovers, friends, and colleagues--with wit and needle-sharp prose. Julie Schumacher is brilliant at chronicling the high-tensile cable that connects even the most distant of family members, and the uncertainty and devastation that can result from even the simplest and most loving of choices. Truly, every one of these stories is a gem."--Katherine Heiny, author of Games and Rituals and Early Morning Riser
"Julie Schumacher's mesmerizing collection made me laugh out loud at the same time that it filled me with a sense of foreboding. How does she manage it? With characters so finely tuned that they vibrate on the page and with a keen eye for the ways in which it's our human lot to hurtle toward uncertain futures with our hearts laid bare. These stories are masterful and wise."--Marisa Silver, author of Mary Coin