The End of Youth is a collection of 13 linked stories, essays and rants, about carrying on after youth’s hope is gone. In "Afraid of the Dark," a child learns that there is good reason to be afraid. The adolescent narrator of "Description of a Struggle" finds that love can be brutal. "The Smokers" -examines an adult’s realization that longevity means seeing loved ones die. Written with the same spare and vivid beauty as her earlier award-winning works, The End of Youth is certain to win even wider acclaim.