"Blueprints for Building Better Girls "delves into the lives of an eclectic cast of archetypal female characters--from the high school slut to the good girl, the struggling artist to the college party girl, the wife who yearns for a child to the reluctant mother--mapping America's shifting cultural landscape from the late 1970s to the present day. Its interconnected stories explore the commonly shared but rarely spoken of experiences that build girls into women and women into wives and mothers. In revealing all their vulnerabilities and twisting our preconceived notions of who they are, Elissa Schappell alters how we think about the nature of female identity and how it evolves.

Nineteen vivid and compelling stories explore the often charged and tender relationship between a daughter and her father. Includes such notable authors as Pam Houston, Sandra Cisneros, Aimee Bender, Antonya Nelson, Bliss Broyard, Heather Sellers, Steve Almond, Peter Ho Davies, Dan Chaon and others, along with exciting new discoveries. Guest editor Gina Frangello of the award-winning Other Voices magazine, with foreword by Elissa Schappell of Tin House and Vanity Fair. With its universal family theme, Falling Backwards: Stories of Fathers and Daughters is sure to meet a big reception, reaching out from its literary origins to embrace a broad readership with these beautiful and challenging stories.