BUT FOR FORTUNE
On the surface, Corinth Eaton's life is going according to plan. She is succeeding in her third year of medical school and in a serious relationship with a man she intends to marry. In reality, Corinth is barely afloat, struggling with debilitating anxiety and depression, as well as the recent death of her father. A split-second decision results in her suspension from surgery rotation and reassignment to Maxwood, the state psychiatric institution where her grandmother was a patient for decades. When Corinth discovers Granny's chart at Maxwood, she's desperate to make sense of the narrative in its pages—events her family refuses to discuss. The Granny she knows is docile and incoherent from years of medication and institutionalization, unable to provide her own account. But Corinth's rotation at Maxwood might just allow her to connect with her grandmother in ways she couldn't before.
Blooming from the seeds of author Erin Miller Reid's family history, But for Fortune follows two women fifty years apart as they attempt to give voice to their own silenced realities. What unfolds is a whirling intergenerational exploration of mental illness, discrimination, and the insidious nature of family secrets. Writing in lush prose and drawing on her own experiences as a doctor, Reid weaves together a story that is at once incisive, heartfelt, and deeply human.
Praise for But For Fortune
“Reid's scenes, full of sensory details, unfolded like a vivid song, days after I finished reading But for Fortune. I couldn't put this novel down, and its story will long have a hold on me.”
~Karen Salyer McElmurray, author of I Could Name God in Twelve Ways: Essays
“But for Fortune is the kind of novel that lingers long after the final page. Erin Miller Reid renders Corinth Eaton with remarkable precision, creating a character who is not only deeply relatable but also representative of so many women who try to hold too much together at once. As Corinth navigates the pressures of medical training while uncovering the hidden story of her grandmother, the novel unfolds into a powerful story of buried truths and hard-won revelations. Reid's prose draws the reader in and refuses to let go, even in moments when the story becomes so painful one needs to pause and catch their breath. At its heart, this is a story about one woman's quest to reclaim her grandmother's narrative and, in doing so, find the path to her own liberation.”
~Angela Jackson-Brown, author of Untethered: A Novel
“But for Fortune introduces Erin Miller Reid as an important new voice in Southern literature. Reid presents Appalachia in ways it has rarely been shown. Her characters are medical professionals, grad students, and piano teachers. The place is as complex as its people. In this moving meditation on family legacy, written in intelligent prose that is lovely as the plot is compelling, Reid takes us vividly to the town of Fawn Gap and into the minds of Mary Esther and Corinth, two characters you will never forget. Along the way, you will mourn with and root for both of them.”
~Silas House, author of the Southern Book Prize–winningAll These Ghosts: Poems
“With language as crisp and as lyrical as a carillon song, But for Fortune steers us deftly between the stories of a young medical resident and her emotionally elusive grandmother, between 1941 and the turn of the new millennium, between a past where women find themselves trapped in patriarchal constraints—both figurative and literal—and a present day that springs the hope of choice. … Each chapter of But for Fortune is a marvel—not simply an instruction manual for navigating depression and the treatment thereof but a guide for keeping the faith in all things. By the end of this novel, we understand that the connective tissue of these stories is the book's essential, important statement, and that this particular cycle of generational trauma is one both eternal and universal. In But for Fortune, Erin Miller Reid has offered us a powerful gift from one of the most exciting new feminist voices in American literature.”
~Jacinda Townsend, author of Trigger Warning: A Novel
“An engaging novel that explores imposter syndrome in higher education and continues to expand conversations around mental health and resources across generations of Appalachian women.”
~Laura Leigh Morris, author of The Stone Catchers: A Novel
“Reid's But For Fortune is a work of profound insight, breaching the walls of silent suffering and skillfully liberating generations of once-hushed histories. Her compassionate prose explores the complex bonds of women and their families, all with both feet firmly planted on a path toward communal reckoning.”
~Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle, author of Even As We Breathe
“In this impressive debut novel that explores the dark, troubling history of psychiatric institutions, Erin Miller Reid writes with deep understanding and compassion about mental health, the cost of family silences, and the strength and resilience of women across generations. A wonderful new and important voice for Appalachian literature.”
~Carter Sickels, author of The Prettiest Star
“But for Fortune is a compelling look into lives connected by blood, DNA, and circumstance. Its striking back-and-forth narrative between women of different generations brings to life characters who feel as real and honest as the Appalachian roots of the novel. Erin Miller Reid's compassionate storytelling sheds light on the field of medicine, the often taboo subject of mental health treatment, and why fiction is vital in our understanding of what it means to be human.”
~Jayne Moore Waldrop, author of Drowned Town
“What happens when our stories are wiped away? This is the question at the heart of Erin Miller Reid's powerful debut novel that shines a light on female agency, the fight for mental health, and the hold of generational trauma. Told through the dual timeline narratives of a grandmother and granddaughter born fifty years apart, Reid reminds us that the sins of the past live on in the present, even when we don't see them—even as we seek to understand and disarm them. I'll be thinking about this stunning novel for a long, long time.”
~Cathy Rigg, author of That Which Binds Us: A Novel
“Beautiful work, full of insight. An ideal text for illuminating the stories of women as both providers and recipients of health care in this country. The smack of truth can be felt throughout this stellar tome. With Corinth and Mary Esther, Reid burns the names of not one but two new immortals into the oaken honor roll of Appalachian literature. Gorgeous storytelling.”
~Robert Gipe, author of Pop: An Illustrated Novel
“An earnest, affecting novel about the painful consequences of the lack of effective mental health care.”
~Kirkus Reviews