The Endless M begins with Dustin Hendrick's nearly perfect but mysterious upbringing in rural Oregon. He is fiercely loved and protected by his salt-of-the-earth grandparents, yet he never fully fits into the small town they believed would shelter him. In these deeply personal reminiscences, the author examines his earliest and most powerful memories, his family and their secrets, his relationships and the scars they leave, and his own choices and mistakes, chronicling a winding and uncharted path to self-acceptance and the truth.
"Not without a biting sense of humor; but not without sincerity and care; and not without first teasing apart and unraveling the skein of familial history does Dustin Hendrick's The Endless M interrogate and reassemble a version of his story that is capacious and open-ended. The narrator never shies away from getting at a hard truth, but does so armed with compassion, wit, and a knack for scene. Hendrick returns to his home town to explore the site of his childhood and captures small-town Oregon in the process—its ladies' luncheons, youth groups and family gatherings—all against the backdrop of a dying industry. The Endless M finds its footing not in any one revelation but in the act of peeling back the facades and fictions—as the author says, 'the magic is in the telling.'"
Harper Quinn, author of Coolth
"The Endless M—told with the perfect blend of openness, intelligence, humor, self-awareness, place, and perspective—cultivates as an incredibly compelling and authentic journey through self-discovery to self-acceptance. This is an inspired work from a gifted author. I devoured it. I can’t wait to see what Hendrick does next."
Jason Arias, author of Momentary Illumination of Objects in Motion
"Dustin Hendrick shares a deeply personal story of growing up and breaking free from a small town and a family riddled with secrets. The Endless M is a coming of age story and a generous exploration about the many ways our families both love us and injure us. There is anger here, yes. But in his search for the truth of his family, Hendrick manages to take an even-handed look at the choices and limitations of the people who cared for him and also those who were absent. This equanimity has something to teach us all."
Liz Scott, author of This Never Happened
"Dustin Hendrick's The Endless M is a true and beautiful read. The essays in this collection are brought viscerally alive with the author's sharp, neon memory. The writing here is funny and hypnotic with imagistic detail. Through the haze and ache of a child's self-awareness, Hendrick miraculously reveals the best of our human hearts."
Margaret Malone, author of People Like You