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written by Danielle Dayney

Hand-me-down pants that don’t quite fit, twilight bike rides down sleepy neighborhood streets, sweaty family camping trips, the things that almost break you, and the things you barely notice—it’s hard to see the shape of your life until you’re looking back on it.

In this collection of short essays, Danielle Dayney recounts her experiences as an awkward child in the piecemeal family that raised her. From her biological father’s absence to her mother’s battle with cancer to the birth of her daughter, Dayney’s stories venture beyond anecdote to nest safely among the tangled experiences that shape the people we become. With a keen eye for the pebbles of humor and glimmers of beauty along the rough roads of her life, Dayney has crafted a book that feels as familiar as a home-cooked meal and as exciting as the first night in a new city.

When Love Sticks Around is a memoir of love, loss, humor, identity, and above all, family—the one you’re born into and the one you gather along the way.

Those are the things worth sticking around for.

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Meet the Author

Born and raised in Ohio, Danielle Dayney got her start writing rock concert reviews and band interviews for Toledo-based music magazine The Glass Eye. After leaving Ohio, she set aside her journals for several years to work in the real estate industry, but after her mother passed away from cancer, she returned to writing, initially as a cathartic way to understand her grief. 

Since then, her work has appeared in the Fredericksburg Literary and Art Review, online at Sunlight Press, Dead Housekeeping and The Mindful Word, and in several anthologies including The Virginia Writers Centennial Anthology, Nevertheless We Persisted, Beach Reads: Lost and Found, and Beach Reads: Adrift. She has also received awards for two creative nonfiction essays at BlogHer. 

Danielle lives in the rolling hills of Virginia with her husband, two daughters, and two dogs. Follow her blog at https://danielledayney.com

Press Kit

Details

Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, E-book

Pages: 156

ISBN (HC): 978-1-958754-21-4

ISBN (PB): 978-1-953021-19-9

ISBN (e-book): 978-1-953021-20-5

Release Date: 11/15/2021

Endorsements

When Love Sticks Around is an instantly engaging memoir that deals with the highs and lows of coming-of-age and the realities and complexities of adulthood. Dayney moves seamlessly through her life from birth, right up to the first moment of motherhood, before losing her own mother to cancer. Her vignettes of life’s journeys instantly transport readers into a world unique to her. It’s the complexities of the relationships within the pages of her debut novel that are both delightful and also heartbreaking. From the very first page, she has written a book 

worth sticking around for.”

-Donna-Louise Bishop, community life correspondent 

for The Eastern Daily Press, Norfolk, UK

 

“Ms. Dayney’s story of growing up on the wrong side of the tracks in Toledo, Ohio, is a tale of disappointment, grit, and ultimately, love. In her quest to unravel her family’s thorny relationships, she brings readers into a cigarette-and-beer-filled world they will not want to leave.”

-Amy Francis Dechary, editor of the Beach Reads anthology series

 and president of Third Street Writers

 

“Each short essay in When Love Sticks Around is a marvelous example of the struggles we face throughout our lives, how love in all of its various forms presides through it, and ultimately how together we face both the tragedies and the moments of celebration. Whether the topic is growing up poor, struggling to gain a relationship with a parent, dating, having not-the-best jobs, transitioning into being an adult, or navigating racism, Dayney’s mesmerizing narratives and skill at storytelling aid in exploring the complexities of life, all told in simple, relatable ways. Through these candid glimpses of her own experiences, this coming-of-age memoir reaches beyond the moments of growing up to create a visceral testament to all that we love and search for.”

-Chelsey Clammer, author of Circadian and BodyHome

 

“Dayney’s well-written and poignant collection of personal essays makes you laugh, seethe, and cry. In other words, this is life itself.”

-Betsy Ashton, author of Out of the Desert

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