A riotous revenge novel about one woman’s quest to escape her stalker ex-boyfriend—by stalking him herself.

NERVE DAMAGE
by Annakeara Stinson
Knopf, Spring 2026
(via Neon Literary)

Clarice’s breakup with P.T. began the usual way—she discovered he was cheating—and ended with a restraining order and a one-way ticket from New York to L.A.

Years later, on the day the restraining order is set to expire, though, Clarice spots a man who looks suspiciously like P.T. at a nightclub near her new apartment, flirting with the bartender. Clarice is certain her ex has returned to ruin her life, but with scant evidence pointing one way or another she takes increasingly unhinged steps to find the truth.

Profane and poignant, brash and deeply empathetic, NERVE DAMAGE is a different kind of survivor narrative—a novel about how far one woman will go as she tries to wrest back control of her life in a world that seems determined to send her spiraling.

Annakeara Stinson is a writer whose work has appeared in Bustle, Brooklyn Magazine, Eater, IndieWire, Pitchfork, Marie Claire, and more. She has an MFA in Fiction from The New School and lives in L.A.