Winner of the Ploughshares John C. Zacharis First Book Award 2015
'Beautiful, memorable stories, artfully nuanced, boldly honest.'
Joanna Scott
'These stories explore the complex harmonies within real imperfect relationships, revealing moments in a life when a carefully held balance shifts and, imperceptibly, that life is changed.'
Philip Gross
A haunting short story collection,
The Missing Woman circles around women who are either literally missing – a mother in rehab, a daughter never born – or who are missing some metaphorical piece of themselves. A father tries to convince his uncompromising, anorexic daughter to want to live, a single woman lures men to her bed only to abandon them, and a marriage is shaken by a search party for a woman who’s disappeared. Burns asks questions about balance – safety with adventure – dreams with practicality – grief with joy – and challenges the reader to take a journey, make choices...
A haunting short story collection,
The Missing Woman circles around women who are either literally missing – a mother in rehab, a daughter never born – or who are missing some metaphorical piece of themselves. A father tries to convince his uncompromising, anorexic daughter to want to live, a single woman lures men to her bed only to abandon them, and a marriage is shaken by a search party for a woman who’s disappeared. Burns asks questions about balance – safety with adventure – dreams with practicality – grief with joy – and challenges the reader to take a journey, make choices... 
