Join us on June 18th as we welcome Annakeara Stinson and Lauren Markham for Nerve Damage. Save the date! RSVP is not required, but appreciated. Seats are first-come, first-served, but can be guaranteed with the purchase of a book or a $3 sliding scale donation to our program.

About the book

 riotous revenge novel about a woman’s quest to escape her stalker ex-boyfriend—by stalking him herself.

“It’s impossible for a book so chilling, so uncanny, so urgent to also be this funny. Nerve Damage is a major debut.”

—Kaveh Akbar, New York Times bestselling author of Martyr!

Clarice’s breakup with P.T. began the usual way—she discovered he was cheating. Then came the constant texts, the nonstop emails from burner accounts, countless phone calls from dozens of different numbers. He showed up outside her apartment and her office. He sent her flowers and poems, and, perhaps most sinister of all, a link to the music video for Dido’s “White Flag.” Relief arrived only when Clarice finally obtained a restraining order and one-way ticket from New York to L.A.

Just as the restraining order expires—and three years to the day since she left him—Clarice spots a man who looks suspiciously like P.T. at a nightclub. Could it be him? Her best friend thinks she’s imagining things. Her therapist wants her to focus on healing her inner child. Her mother is busy planning her wedding to her fourth husband. A psychic medium can reveal only that P.T.’s energy is too volatile to locate on the spiritual plane. As painful memories resurface, Clarice is convinced her ex has returned to ruin her life. But with scant evidence to prove it, she takes increasingly unhinged steps to uncover the truth, ultimately leading to a place where paranoia and reality begin to blur.

A profane and poignant debut novel, Nerve Damage is a different kind of survivor narrative, about how far one woman will go to wrest back control of her life in a world determined to send her spiraling.

About the author

ANNAKEARA STINSON is a writer whose work has appeared in Bustle, Brooklyn Magazine, The Inquisitive Eater, IndieWire, Paste, Marie Claire, and more. She has an M.F.A. in fiction from The New School and currently lives in L.A.

About the bookstore

The Booksmith is an independent bookstore located in the Haight Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco since 1976.

Please note:

• Check-in for the event will begin at 6:45pm.
• Priced ticket holders (Book+seat, Pay it Forward!+seat) will have seats held until 7pm. Arrivals after 7pm will be allowed admission, but seats are not guaranteed.
• General admission ticket holders will be offered seats at check-in on a first-come, first-served basis. May be standing room.
• Space at the door on the day of the event is usually available, but not guaranteed.
• Books will be for sale on the night of the event.
• ADA accessible. Bathrooms on site during event hours.
• Events typically end between 8:30 and 9pm.
• Questions? tickets@booksmith.com