In this week’s edition of Endnotes, we take a look at Erika Krouse’s Save Me, Stranger, a collection where characters find help out of various states of despair. In its review, PW said, Krouse “makes the thrill of new beginnings palpable.”

Here’s how the book came together:

Erika Krouse

Author

“Save Me, Stranger began in 2013 when one of my friends and writing group compatriots unexpectedly ended his life, one day before he and I had plans to meet up. I felt not just grief but a hubris-induced guilt, as if I could have somehow prevented his suicide. Thus began my decade-long obsession with the question, Can one person really save another?”

Mary Evans

Agent, Mary Evans Inc.

“I’ve had the privilege of representing Erika Krouse since 1999. I moved her to Flatiron with a two-book deal, the first of which became her memoir, Tell Me Everything. Save Me, Stranger is the second book of that deal. We are all dazzled by her return to her first writing
format and all that we feel this publication will entail.”

Caroline Bleeke

Executive Editor, Flatiron Books

“Editing Save Me, Stranger was a joy. From the first pages, you can tell how intentional Erika is—the naturalness and ease of her writing belies how much
care goes into each word. We also spent time discussing the perfect story order and making sure thematic echoes within the collection felt cohesive.”

Emily Mahon

Cover Designer

“The work of Spanish artist Eva Navarro—whose pieces are from a bird’s-eye perspective, playing with space, figures, and abstract shapes—resonated with the tone of the book. The work that was used on the cover speaks to the disassociation and anonymity of characters and the concept of paths crossing.”