Vermont writer Jessica Hendry Nelson’s debut book, a memoir of linked essays from Counterpoint Press, will be published in January 2014. Nelson is the cofounder of the Renegade Writers’ Collective in Burlington, Vermont, and is the senior nonfiction editor of Fiddleback. Her work has appeared in Threepenny Review, PANK, Carolina Quarterly, Best American Essays 2012, and elsewhere.

From Josh Cook of Porter Square Books, Cambridge, MA: “Memory doesn’t move in a straight line. It is chaotic, digressive, and imperfect. While most memoirs force life into the restrictions of straight lines, Nelson embraces the chaos by moving back and forth in time, free associating among memories, and organizing her life into a series of essays. What could be just another memoir of a family disintegrated by substance abuse becomes a vibrant and challenging exploration of abuse, obsession, coping, family, friendship, and self-discovery.”

Nelson will appear as a featured author at the upcoming Vermont Reading Series event on November 21st.

If Only You People Could Follow Directions will be available from Powell’s Books and from  local independent booksellers.