Each of the seven stories in Tory Tuttle's luminous first collection explores dislocation, whether from losing a child or the protection of a parent, or as a strategy to escape reality. A mother measures the distance growing between herself and her first child, who lived only three weeks; a teenager runs away from abuse, detention, and the indifference of her mother; a janitor’s hold on reality dissolves after witnessing the murder of a child; a traveler, lacerated by the death of her sister, seeks solace through flight; a lonely woman whose child was stillborn experiences the world through daily bus rides; a woman is abandoned by her lover and her mother, though in drastically different ways; a wife protects her children by finally leaving her abusive husband. These uniquely rendered portraits, often impressionistic, depict the accommodations one makes to survive a world frequently inhospitable to human desire and longing.

Kirkus Reviews:

Tuttle’s debut short story collection finds its characters sifting through loneliness and dissociation in their somber lives… Tuttle’s masterful dialogue surprises time and again, as seemingly trivial conversations deliver profundity… The sole downside to this superlative book is that it’s too brief, but these stories are likely to hold up to multiple readings.  

Blueink Review:
Every character has an energy and vocabulary that matches their emotional intelligence, creating stories that stand as a singular testament…  

BookLife, Editor’s Pick:

 Tuttle’s language is evocative, and her prose draws its power from the seamless blending of the senses…  Poignant short stories of people living on through traumatic events.

Foreword Clarion, four stars:

Throughout the stories, people face forms of loss and become numb, even as they maintain their everyday rituals… Their psychological frailty is haunting, and the absences that they experience lead to invisible parallel stories that prompt sometimes unnerving reflections… Filled with crossroad reckonings and populated by sensitive women whose lives are unraveling, The Missing is an insightful short story collection...