Lithium for Medea

A riveting tale of addiction — to drugs, physical love, and dysfunctional family dynamics — Kate Braverman's novel is not easily forgotten. The story is told by Rose, a woman who has spiraled downward from a string of loveless affairs and an unhappy marriage to a hallucinatory world of cocaine and cruelty that is both sensual and squalid.

That Braverman is also an accomplished poet is evident in the purity of her language. Powerfully evoking the disaffected atmosphere of the 1970s, this haunting story tells of a young woman's fierce flight from a dark life of obsession. This reissue features a new foreword by Rick Moody. “Lithium for Medea is jumpy, kinetic, and finally very powerful, a deeply felt piece of work by a very gifted writer.” — Joan Didion