Evocative and passionately written, "Vanishing and Other Stories" by debut Canadian author Deborah Willis explores emotional and physical absences, the ways in which people leave, are left, and whether or not it's ever possible to move on. Readers will encounter a skinny, freckled ice-cream scooper named Nina Simone, a vanishing visionary of social utopia, a French teacher who collects fiances, and a fortune-telling mother who fails to predict the heartbreak of her own daughter. The characters in this collection will linger in the imagination "like the smell of lavender and molasses," proving that nothing is ever truly forgotten. Written with a remarkable economy of words, Willis' prose will draw comparisons to early Alice Munro.