Elephants in the Room

Elephants in the Room
by Betty Jane Hegerat
Published by Shadowpaw Press
Review by Sally Meadows
$22.99 ISBN 9781998273485

The best–or at least most satisfying–single-author anthologies have a common thread woven throughout the stories. In Betty Jane Hegerat’s new short story collection Elephants in the Room, published by Shadowpaw Press, readers don’t have to dig deep to identify the connecting theme: it’s right there in the title.

Hegerat has taken eight of her previously published stories and fleshed out her overarching idea of topics that are avoided because they’re uncomfortable to discuss, with six new tales including the capstone story “Elephants” that literally includes elephants–lots of elephants–in the room. With deft precision, she fearlessly exposes the things we often keep to ourselves: secrets and lies, regrets and beliefs, fears and hopes, all mixed in with glimmers of love, grace, and compassion.

Hegerat’s prose is both straightforward and complex as she adroitly exposes human foibles–especially as they surface in imperfect family relationships–with a dose of humour and/or affection. Her characters are finely drawn, inherently flawed, and more relatable than we might be willing to admit: the begrudging son who receives praise when he least expects it; a daughter-in-law’s final act of love for her husband’s deceased mother; a floundering divorcee; a child innovatively coping after an exclusion from a birthday party. Life is messy and life is hard; not only because of the choices of others, but our own choices too–especially when we’re not being true to our authentic selves.

As I read through the stories in Elephants in the Room, I took time in between each one to reflect on what I had just read, especially those stories that, for me, had an ambiguous ending. In the end, isn’t that the mark–and goal–of exceptional writers?

This is Betty Jane Hegerat’s sixth book and second collection of short stories. She is also the author of three novels and a creative non-fiction book. Betty Jane lives in Calgary, Alberta where she teaches, mentors, and offers reading and substantive comment on selective works.

THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM.