Want to create an interactive transcript for this episode?
Podcast: New Books in Literary Studies
Episode: Kimberly King Parsons, "We Were the Universe" (Knopf, 2024)
Description: The trip was supposed to be fun. When Kit's best friend gets dumped by his boyfriend, he begs her to ditch her family responsibilities for an idyllic weekend in the Montana mountains. They'll soak in hot springs, then sneak a vape into a dive bar and drink too much, like old times. Instead, their getaway only reminds Kit of everything she's lost lately: her wildness, her independence, and--most heartbreaking of all--her sister, Julie, who died a few years ago.When she returns home to the Dallas suburbs, Kit tries to settle in to her routine--long afternoons spent c...