She Wanted Something Else
A story of three connected lives and the delicate shifts, hesitations, and redirections that alter, threaten, and renew the characters' relationships over time.
Foremost is Rose Ann, a dedicated painter who never does quite what is expected of her—or even what she expects of herself. Imperious and stubborn, she is caught between the demands of her family and those of her life as an artist.
Told from the points of view of each of the three characters—Rose Ann, her husband, Teddy, and her daughter, Alma—She Wanted Something Else traces Rose Ann's struggle to be artist and wife and mother. It is the story of three imperfectly suited people and the emotional force that binds their lives together.
Praise for She Wanted Something Else
"From her opening scene, in which a child unhooks a guardrail of a roller coaster and stands up to wave to her mother far below, Megan Staffel shows a fine instinct for rendering scenes that reveal the secret essence of her characters. The daring child becomes a daring woman who risks her marriage to study painting in Rome. Ms. Staffel's portrait of the artist explores the tension between ambition and love with a true novelist's well-balanced compassion." Thomas Gavin, Breathing Water
"An accomplished and emotionally complex work." Booklist
"The writing is precise and delicate, the imagery robust and full of flavor. Characters, whether large or cameo, are vivid, moving through emotional terrain both ambiguous and morally complex." San Francisco Chronicle
"[Staffel] shows us that in relationships, sometimes the shadow is as important as the object that casts it." The Seattle Times