Waiting for the Cyclone

Thirteen stories that expose the complications of women who dare to deviate from the status quo.

"Leesa Dean writes strong, complex, unforgettable female characters I'd like to hang out with. Waiting for the Cyclone is a radiant debut--beautifully written, passionate, and whip smart--from a refreshing new voice bound to make her mark in Canadian literature." --Ayelet Tsabari, author of The Best Place on Earth, winner of the 2015 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature

In the land of fiction, women are too often cast as inherently good--typically kind, always considerate, and traditionally in possession of high morals. Not so in the recklessly audacious stories in Waiting for the Cyclone. A mother in need of rehabilitation, a wife who wakes up in the arms of a man who isn't her husband, a young woman who comes face-to-face with a bully from years ago. These women don't need to be liked, do not comply to set expectations, and are not compelled to make apologies. These women, and a dozen more, are perfectly imperfect.

A collection of short stories that behaves much like the weather pattern it was named for, Waiting for the Cyclone is at times fast and reckless and at others, calm yet under high pressure. A powerful literary debut from one of Canada's most promising young writers.