What happens when fantasy tears the screen of the everyday to wake us up? Could that waking be our end?

In Bliss Montage, Ling Ma brings us eight wildly different tales of people making their way through the madness and reality of our collective delusions: love and loneliness, connection and possession, friendship, motherhood, the idea of home. A woman lives in a house with all her ex-boyfriends. A toxic friendship grows up around a drug that makes you invisible. An ancient ritual might heal you of anything—if you bury yourself alive.

These and other scenarios investigate the ways that the outlandish and the ordinary are shockingly, deceptively, heartbreakingly alike.

The reading will be done live within the group and we will have discussions unpacking each story after reading. No need to read ahead, just come with yourself and an open mind.

My name is Sam Taylor and I'm based in Richmond, VA. Additionally, I'm a former librarian turned Product Strategist at Manhattan Hydraulics. After a very short time talking with me, you'll quickly realize I am obsessed with hyper-niche corners of the Internet. From domestic cozy to the rock tumbling community on TikTok, I've always been interested in how folks express themselves and craft community across platforms and IRL.

A copy of Bliss Montage by Ling Ma