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“Unstitched is riveting, compassionate, topical, and one of the best books I’ve read this year. Stanciu, in beautiful prose, takes on the impact of the opioid epidemic on a small Vermont town with the gusto and suspense of a fine mystery novel, and the empathy that only a truly fine observer of the human condition could muster. Highly recommended.”
— Thomas Christopher Greene, author of The Headmaster’s Wife and The Perfect Liar, Founding President of Vermont College of Fine Arts -
“Unstitched should be mandatory reading. It is a heartbreaking, raw, tender and revelatory look at addiction and its pervasive grip on ourselves, our families, our communities, and our rural towns. It is also a sublimely written narrative of transformation, vulnerability, discovery and love. This book undid me as I read—taking me into the heart of suffering, revealing my own habits, biases and fears—and then it gathered those pieces together and braided them into something new: a vision of hope, connection, possibility and healing for us all. Stanciu’s courage, generosity, curiosity and gorgeous words are the very best of guides.”
— Robin MacArthur, author of Heart Spring Mountain and Half Wild 
Author Archives: Brett Ann Stanciu
Face From the Past
Every bird around us is singing this morning. The garden luxuriates in a clinging dew. Unexpectedly, a woman I worked with for a number of years texts me with news she’s in town for a few days. We had last … Continue reading
Dirty Dishes
I had dinner in someone else’s house. Big deal? It’s been a very, very long, a pre-pandemic time. At the end of an afternoon of a school board retreat, we kept sitting around the table, eating and refiling our plates, … Continue reading
Promises.
A thunderstorm rumbles in early Saturday morning, in that darkest spot before dawn. We’re nearly at the solstice, and the days are long and lovely, full of just the right amount of warmth. Our Vermont world is in bloom. The … Continue reading
Random Tuesday Moment
Late afternoon, shaking off the day’s chaos, a light and very welcome rain sprinkles down. I’m drinking a glass of water and picking a few rouge leaves from here and there in the garden, when I look up and see … Continue reading
Ceremony.
High school graduation this year is under an enormous white tent, surrounded by the community. Not everyone is pleased with the arrangement — that’s pretty much a given — but the tent looks regal, the weather is magnificent, and, well, … Continue reading
Chaos, Roses, Life.
Friday morning, I’m washing the breakfast dishes when warm liquid runs over my bare toes. For the briefest moment, I think I’m standing in the edge of a warm ocean, and then I realize my kitchen sink drain has broken … Continue reading
Rain
Just before dawn, a brief thunderstorm breaks apart and cools our world, followed by a dawn suffused with rosy and gold light. Much of the town might be sleeping, but the birds aren’t. The clouds move in again and swallow … Continue reading
Vermont Respite
While the daughters tie their kayaks on roof racks, I sit in the grass, keeping company with hungry bumblebees in the rhododendrons. This hardy plant is doing its thing now, a visual symphony of color. Spring crickets, garden soil under … Continue reading
Sweet June
Summer in Vermont is so brief that every day matters — or maybe that’s just me, and my own particular worries. Early Saturday morning and the day stretches ahead. Planting in the garden before the rain. Work emails to answers. … Continue reading
Emerald Moment
We pulled into the DMV exactly on time for my daughter’s driving test exam. I sped while driving there — lousy parenting example — but at the very last moment before we left, it seemed we needed my daughter’s social … Continue reading
