Louisa can't stop thinking about Pat, who has finally broken under the pressure of her husband's abuse. Reminded of another young woman, Stephanie, and the way her husband hovers around her as if to stop her from speaking out against him, Louisa decides to put herself in the middle of a situation that everyone else seems determined to ignore.

Real Life contains ten perfectly formed stories—singular moments of emotional intensity about the inner lives we all lead. Each story presents the moments of "real life" that all of us experience, stripping away defences to reveal truths of pain, joy, anger, fear, or hope.

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