Brain work

the long version

Guista's characters are on the frontlines of mind-body problems: psychiatrists, professors, and people functioning with brain disorders of varying degrees of seriousness. In 'Filling the Spaces Between Us, ' a disillusioned psychiatrist discovers too late the folly of his lifelong professional obsession. 'A Walk Outside' visits a nursing facility where a respite from the aftereffects of sleeping sickness gives an elderly man an opportunity to romance a neighbor afflicted with Alzheimer's. In 'California, ' a man develops a searing migraine as his wife sells all the keepsakes of their marriage at one final yard sale. Throughout the collection, Guista maintains an extraordinary mix of compassion for his characters and awe at their situations.