You know the Dugans. They're that scrappy family that lives down the street. Their yard is overgrown, they don't pick up after their dog, their five children run free?leaving chaos in their wake?and the father hasn't earned a cent in years. The wife holds them together on her income alone. You wouldn't want them for neighbors?but from a distance, they're quite entertaining. You can tell from the empty bottles lying under the bush out front that alcohol is an issue in the household?and all things considered, you can hardly blame the wife for leaving one day. Without her at the helm, the rest carry on the best they can. Their strong sense of family keeps them going. They help?and in some cases, rescue?each other as they struggle for a better life. And while they never follow the rules, or completely conquer the adversity with which they're faced, they do manage to meet their challenges?and even earn some much-needed respect. Along the way, they might even make you proud. Set in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, the twelve linked stories of Our Love Could Light The World depict a dysfunctional family that's messy and rude, cruel and kind, and loyal to the end.

Anne Leigh Parrish's debut story collection, All The Roads That Lead From Home, won the 2012 Independent Publisher Book Awards silver medal for best short story fiction. Her work can be found or is forthcoming in The Virginia Quarterly Review, Clackamas Literary Review, The Pinch, American Short Fiction, Storyglossia, PANK, Prime Number, Bluestem, Crab Orchard Review, Literary Orphans, Spartan, and r.kv.r.y., among other publications. She is the fiction editor for Eclectica Magazine. She lives in Seattle. To learn more, visit her at www.anneleighparrish.com.