With the ease and mastery that have won extraordinary acclaim for her writing, these eleven stories by Alice Munro explore the most intimate and transforming moments of experience—moments when the shape of life is set, moments of realization about the burden, the power, and the nature of love. A divorced woman returns to her childhood home where she confronts the memory of her parents’ confounding yet deep bond. The accidental near-drowning of a child exposes the fragility of the trust between children and parents. A young man, remembering a terrifying childhood incident, wrestles with the responsibility he has always felt for his younger brother. In these and other stories Alice Munro proves once again a sensitive and compassionate chronicler of our times. Drawing us into the most intimate corners of ordinary lives, she reveals much about ourselves, our choices, and our experiences of love.