The Mississippi Delta is a hard place to be. A world of apocalyptic snowstorms, teen moonshiners, and bulletproof roaches, of honky tonks and kudzu, Dollar General and a predatory Reverend. Told across eleven evocative stories, Catfish Pond Woman explores the isolating experience of growing up, asking: where do we go when home no longer feels like home? Bianca McCarty’s striking debut is a tender, surreal depiction of a young woman—curious, wry, and rebellious—searching for herself in the wake of loss, amid a splintered family and a stifling small town.