In the essays of DISENCHANTED, Kaycie Hall catalogues the most acute shocks of disillusionment to reclaim the complexity and depth of her experiences — a stake for identity and sense-making that has found new urgency in motherhood. From boyfriends who hid heroin addictions to a buried rivalry in friendship, from miscarriage to antidepressant withdrawal, Kaycie is prompted to revisit her own poisoned fantasies. With hard-won wisdom and resolute vulnerability, she overcomes the fierce maternal urge to protect her son from the inevitable pains of life, because it is in these heartbreaks and blunders that one becomes a person.