"Belonging: Short Stories from Pangyrus," edited by Virginia Pye and Anne Bernays, is a poignant collection exploring the sacrifices we make for acceptance.

What do we sacrifice when we strive to belong? A woman gets thin to make her family notice her. A teenage girl shoplifts with a friend for love and affirmation. Whether it's an unflinching look at a soldier's return to a land seared in his memory or a tale of a woman wandering the nighttime streets she's forgotten, the tender and funny stories of Belonging explore our own hope of ever finding the connections we so desperately want.

Contributors include Erin Almond, Marie Myung-Ok Lee, EC Osondu, and others.

The stories:

Erin Almond The Unbearable Weight of My Heart

Susan Buttenwieser Unaccompanied Minors

Paul Curtis Karaoke in the Lounge of the Gods

Catherine Elcik We Own the Jetty

Khanh Ha Ask the Sea

Marie Myung-Ok Lee Manifest Your Dreams

E. C. Osondu Conversations with a Stranger

Pamela Painter Feelings and Kissy

Ann Russell Art Thieves

Joshua Shapiro Signs