Family Language
$33.50
- Paperback
288 pages
- Release Date
1 December 2026
Summary
In this striking debut, an ambitious academic faces new and unwanted choices when she is confronted with overnight motherhood.
Dr. Mona Melamed is a happily married, purposefully childfree linguist at a top Southern California university. Her days are spent researching and stressing about finally, finally securing tenure. That is, until her brother-in-law and his wife die, leaving their six-year-old son orphaned.
Everyone in Mona’s orbit expects her to take the lead in caring …
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781685892616 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 1685892612 |
| Author: | Nicole Nelson |
| Publisher: | Melville House Publishing |
| Imprint: | Melville House Publishing |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 288 |
| Release Date: | 1 December 2026 |
| Weight: | 369g |
| Dimensions: | 140mm x 210mm |
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Critics Review
“Amidst tragic loss and injustice, Family Language affirms the power, the reparative work of showing up for one another. It asserts, language can heal, alchemize, and hold us. Nelson has created a salve, order among chaos. Tender, heart opening, and life affirming.” — A.M. Sosa, And I’ll Take Out Your Eyes
“In this post-Roe era, it’s a joy to meet a narrator who is unapologetically feminist! Mona’s story is about ordinary words that have extraordinary complexity and consequences. How does language narrow—or open up—the actual possibilities in our lives? Nicole Nelson writes with compassion and humor about gender, ambition, academia, and the politics of care.” — Leni Zumas, author of Red Clocks
Nicole Nelson
Nicole Nelson earned her MFA from Bennington Writing Seminars. Her work has appeared in The Masters Review Blog, Literary Mama, and Fiction Writers Review, among other publications. For several years, she co-hosted the podcast “Writers on Writing.” She also holds a PhD in linguistics from Rutgers.
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