July 05, 2026

Annakeara Stinson, "Nerve Damage: A Novel" (Knopf, 2026)

Listen Later

35 minutes

Annakeara Stinson's Nerve Damage: A Novel (Knopf,

2026) is a riotous revenge novel about a woman’s quest to escape her

stalker ex-boyfriend—by stalking him herself. Clarice’s breakup with

P.T. began the usual way—she discovered he was cheating. Then came the

constant texts, the nonstop emails from burner accounts, countless phone

calls from dozens of different numbers. He showed up outside her

apartment and her office. He sent her flowers and poems, and, perhaps

most sinister of all, a link to the music video for Dido's “White Flag.”

Relief arrived only when Clarice finally obtained a restraining order

and one-way ticket from New York to L.A. Just as the restraining order

expires—and three years to the day since she left him—Clarice spots a

man who looks suspiciously like P.T. at a nightclub. Could it be him?

Her best friend thinks she’s imagining things. Her therapist wants her

to focus on healing her inner child. Her mother is busy planning her

wedding to her fourth husband. A psychic medium can reveal only that

P.T.’s energy is too volatile to locate on the spiritual plane. As

painful memories resurface, Clarice is convinced her ex has returned to

ruin her life. But with scant evidence to prove it, she takes

increasingly unhinged steps to uncover the truth, ultimately leading to a

place where paranoia and reality begin to blur. A profane and poignant

debut novel, Nerve Damage is a different kind of survivor narrative,

about how far one woman will go to wrest back control of her life in a

world determined to send her spiraling.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature

...more

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New Books in Literature

By Marshall Poe

5

88 ratings

July 05, 2026

Annakeara Stinson, "Nerve Damage: A Novel" (Knopf, 2026)

Listen Later

35 minutes

Annakeara Stinson's Nerve Damage: A Novel (Knopf,

2026) is a riotous revenge novel about a woman’s quest to escape her

stalker ex-boyfriend—by stalking him herself. Clarice’s breakup with

P.T. began the usual way—she discovered he was cheating. Then came the

constant texts, the nonstop emails from burner accounts, countless phone

calls from dozens of different numbers. He showed up outside her

apartment and her office. He sent her flowers and poems, and, perhaps

most sinister of all, a link to the music video for Dido's “White Flag.”

Relief arrived only when Clarice finally obtained a restraining order

and one-way ticket from New York to L.A. Just as the restraining order

expires—and three years to the day since she left him—Clarice spots a

man who looks suspiciously like P.T. at a nightclub. Could it be him?

Her best friend thinks she’s imagining things. Her therapist wants her

to focus on healing her inner child. Her mother is busy planning her

wedding to her fourth husband. A psychic medium can reveal only that

P.T.’s energy is too volatile to locate on the spiritual plane. As

painful memories resurface, Clarice is convinced her ex has returned to

ruin her life. But with scant evidence to prove it, she takes

increasingly unhinged steps to uncover the truth, ultimately leading to a

place where paranoia and reality begin to blur. A profane and poignant

debut novel, Nerve Damage is a different kind of survivor narrative,

about how far one woman will go to wrest back control of her life in a

world determined to send her spiraling.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature

...more