At forty-one, Juanita Lewis is running away from home, courtesy of a one-way ticket to Montana, a place that seems about as far away from the violence and poverty of the Columbus, Ohio, projects as the moon. She wants adventure and excitement-if such things exist for a pre-menopausal African American woman with three grown, deadbeat children.

Juanita's new life in Paper Moon, Montana, begins at a local diner where a culinary face-off with chef and owner Jess Gardiner finds Juanita in front of Jess's stove serving up home cookin' that lures the townsfolk like a magic spell. And suddenly...

What are you supposed to do with a restored spirit? Eventually, I got some answers. I just didn't expect to get so many.

When Juanita Lewis arrived in Paper Moon, Montana, courtesy of a Greyhound bus, she was just looking for a brief respite. Instead, she found a home, friends, and a man to love. But this leave-your-attitude-by-the-door woman made a promise to herself-one that she intends to keep. Now that she's got a place to come back to, Juanita wants to see the world.

A trip out West with her eccentric trucker friend, Peaches, leads to a cooking stint at a new age spa for skinny...

Beloved author Sheila Williams beautifully captures the bittersweet humor and vivid adventures of women who survive the worst life can toss at them--and fight back to claim their right to be free, to be themselves, and to live in . . .

The courage to change doesn't come easy. When Opal Sullivan walks out on an abusive husband after fifteen years, she has only her dreams in her pocket. Her new beginning starts in Appalachian River country, where she sees a bit of herself in a graceful but dilapidated house. Like Opal, the house is worn-out and somewhat beaten up, but it still stands...

These ten classic stories, each featuring well-developed, strong female characters, have garnered numerous literary awards and span every style and theme in speculative fiction.