Mary Morris is also the author of the novels "The Night Sky," (available from Picador), "Crossroads," and "The Waiting Room"; two travel memoirs, "Nothing to Declare: Memoirs of a Woman Traveling Alone "and "Wall to Wall: From Beijing to Berlin by Rai"l; and the award-winning story collections "Vanishing Animals and Other Stories" and "The Bus of Dreams," Her new story collection is "The Lifeguard," Mary Morris teaches writing at Sarah Lawrence College and lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and daughter.