The New York Times bestselling author of The Last Girls presents one of her most compelling novels, acclaimed by Anne Tyler, Annie Dillard, and more... Everywhere about her, from the traffic on Highway 460 to the river that's gone black with coal dust, Crystal Spangler sees a current flowing from the mountain town of Black Rock into the wider world. As a teenager, she is elected beauty queen, gets good grades, and-despite her many enviable qualities-manages also to be well-loved. Everyone knows that she is destined to leave town and do great things.And she does.But no one expects her return; drawn back home by some sort of memory, as if the current that had taken her away had changed its mind...Review"The closest thing to reading this would be reading Madame Bovary while listening to Loretta Lynn."(-Roy Blount, Jr. )"Black Mountain Breakdown is like a country song. It is true and real; it is loving and sad."(-Annie Dillard ) From the Inside FlapCrystal Spangler lives in rural Appalachia. She's the apple of her mother's eye -- not yet beautiful, but she will be. She's the most popular girl at Black Rock High. She makes cheerleader, gets good grades, and is elected beauty queen. Crystal discovers God, goes to college, and falls in love. When she comes home, she's disheveled and confused. Crystal becomes a wealthy politician's wife. But there's something calling her, drawing her back to where it all began, in the shadow of Black Mountain . . .From the Paperback edition.

When Sybill Hess drives over to the hypnotist's office, she hopes he can cure her of the headaches interrupting her sleep the way her friend Betty once saw a woman on TV cure a woman's stammer. But what Dr. Diamond uncovers from Sybill's subconscious goes much deeper than her nervousness over a new tenant who seems to want a date. A shocking memory from Sybill's past threatens to upend everything she thinks she knows about herself and her family. But is it even real?