Published fiction -- The end ; Touching ; Reconstruction ; Ma'dear (for Estelle Ragsdale) ; Quilting on the rebound ; From behind the counter -- Unpublished fiction -- Can't close my eyes to it ; 28 days ; Mama, take another step ; Gossip ; Curtain up: hands on experience -- Sketches & starts -- Inspite of it ; Rented horses ; Shivering ; Human noise ; Confrontation ; Don't Vernita ; Today I got a letter ; Three zeroes ; Walk by -- Essays, speeches, & opinions -- Looking for Mr. Right ; This is America ; An icon, but not a hero ; Dick for a day ; UC Berkeley commencement address ; Life lessons

"For the first time ever, renowned author Terry McMillan brings together her previously published short fiction and nonfiction pieces, as well as never-before-seen works in a single volume. Before McMillan found success as a novelist in the early 1990s, she published provocative, boundary-pushing short stories, capturing the struggles and triumphs of Black life in America with vitality and honesty. From the work-a-day factory man's malaise in The End, to the cast-aside lover's resolve in Touching, to the aging woman's wile in Ma'Dear, McMillan's inimitable voice bravely explores the dark corners of human relationships with compassion, humor and nuance. This collection also features five unpublished short stories that reveal how she wrestled with controversial topics rarely addressed in this era, from domestic abuse in Mama, Take Another Step to extreme poverty in Can't Close My Eyes To It. Whether she's revealing life lessons, pontificating about aging, recalling her sources of inspiration, or laying bare the beginnings of her life as a writer, McMillan approaches every piece with enduring candor, wit, and fearlessness"-- Provided by publisher