In “Creek Dippers,” a teenage girl vows to escape the same fate as that of her eccentric, rough-living mother. “Maggie in the Trees” explores the aftershocks of a man who surrenders to his passion for a wild, damaged woman—his longtime friend’s partner. In “God’s Country,” an elderly woman is unexpectedly reminded of a forbidden youthful passion and the chance she did not take. And in “The Women Where I’m From,” a young woman returns to her childhood home to face her mother’s illness as well as her own sense of belonging.

In striking prose, powerful in its clarity and purity, MacArthur effortlessly renders characters who are wedded to the only land they know, people whose lives are inextricably intertwined—both with one another and with the natural world that surrounds them. MacArthur’s compelling and authentic voice carves out a distinctive vision of the wildness and beauty of rural Vermont.