Show Me Where the Hurt Is
Subtitle
Stories
A collection of stories about love and grief, anchored in brokenness—broken people, broken relationships, broken systems—and the obsessions and insecurities that prevent us from revealing ourselves to one another. The characters in Hayden Casey’s debut collection "Show Me Where the Hurt Is" are on quests for betterment, for pleasure, for distraction—and ultimately, for transformation.
One woman takes up work as an “in-betweener,” hired to fill the lonely gap between relationships. A college student devotes himself to hot yoga in the wake of his mother’s unexpected death. When a buzzy new weight-loss pill hits the market, a woman signs up for a trial—and tries to hide it from her partner. An undergrad becomes entangled in her roommate’s feverish relationship with a grad student and watches in horror as the pair begins to sprout each other’s body parts.
Across thirteen stories that brush up against the strange and surreal, "Show Me Where the Hurt Is" tenderly exposes old wounds that have been carefully concealed so that we might understand the hurt in one another.
Bio
Hayden Casey is an instructor of English at Arizona State University, where he also earned a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing in 2022.
Praise for this book
'Show Me Where the Hurt Is' surprises and delights at every turn. I was impressed by the symmetry of the stories here; wandered along and plucked at every new fruit, which was always just as delicious as the last. The work is compelling and deeply enjoyable. Quite a few times I wondered aloud: how did he do that? This book is terrific and Hayden Casey is a fabulous writer.
Kristen Arnett Author of "Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One"
Hayden Casey is an incredibly inventive, big-hearted writer, and his 'Show Me Where the Hurt Is' is an absolute delight. There’s so much joy and wonder on every page here, so much humor and heartbreak in every finely made sentence and every keenly observed detail. A fantastic debut from a writer I can’t wait to read more of in the years to come.
Matt Bell Author of "Appleseed"
