Doug Underwood
Set against the tensions of the Vietnam War era and the beauty of the Pacific Northwest, high school lovers Tessie Faber and Derek Hemphill become enmeshed in a 1960s version of a #MeToo story that profoundly alters their lives. Together, they explore hidden childhood memories and find themselves up against a man’s world, where women are forced to deal with sexual trauma in a society that doesn’t acknowledge its seriousness. As Tessie reveals the subterranean parts of her life, Derek’s eyes are opened, and the two try to build their relationship upon empathy and equality-a kind of psychological Truth and Reconciliation for all genders. Inspired by Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles, Underwood’s Always, Tessie is a modern reflection of what women faced before the contemporary #MeToo movement and the now repealed Roe versus Wade abortion ruling. It invites today’s readers to ponder what has and has not changed in the circumstances of abused and traumatized women and other marginalized groups throughout history.
