Please Stop Trying to Leave Me

by Alana Saab · 2024

A debut novel about love, family, queerness, and mental health in the modern world. Twenty-seven-year-old Norma is struggling to finish her manuscript while experiencing signs from Instagram and Spotify that she should break up with her girlfriend. Diagnosed with depersonalization/derealization disorder by a new therapist, Norma grapples with her past, the pressures of society, and the blurred lines between fiction and reality. Told through a mix of her own writing and stream of consciousness, the story explores the complexities of sanity, healing, and connection in an era defined by climate change, the metaverse, and digital noise.