REVIEWS

"Enter Sandman starts out like chick lit, but as in The Bell Jar, after making you squirm for the protagonist, it whacks you with a sucker punch of tragedy.... Destined for a long life in print."
- Don Wallace, Kirkus Reviews   {click here for full review}
 
"In the spirit of Breakfast at Tiffany's, the heroine of Stephanie Williams's charming and unflinching novel, Enter Sandman, comes to New York looking for fortune, romance, and fulfillment. Trisha Portman has it all: blond hair, great looks, and a job at the hottest art gallery in town. One day, a piece of luck as big as the Ritz, falls into her lap in the form of a violent and riveting painting. The history of the painting takes us through Trisha's surprising past and edgy present. With deft and graceful strokes, Stephanie Williams has created a rip-roaring read told with compassion, irony, and a flair for the truth."
- Betsy Carter, author of Nothing to Fall Back On
 
"Enter Sandman is nothing you'd expect a young woman dying of cancer to be depressing or preachy. Stephanie Williams is a young woman with cancer, but the book she's written is funny, feisty, and full of a kind of spirit we would all do well to imitate. Read this and weep, yes, but also laugh and admire. Most of all, just read it."
- Sara Nelson, author of So Many Books, So Little Time
 
"If Sex and the City had a heart, as well as a grin and an attitude, it would be Enter Sandman, written by Stephanie Williams. This is a funny and tragic and game book by a game and accomplished girl. Correction: A game and funny and tragic story written with style by a woman in full."
- Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of The Deep End of the Ocean and Twelve Times Blessed
 
"There are so many similarities between this book and the author’s biography, it is obvious that she drew upon her many life experiences to create this novel. One would expect that given the circumstances, drawing off of her personal life experiences would lead to a dark, sad novel. While there are some tragic parts in the novel there is also a lot of humor as well. Williams has created a perfect balance of emotions to make this book a success."
- Kam Aures, MostlyFiction.com   {click here for full review}
 
"The opening of the novel is deceptive, almost like a smarter, better-written 'Sex and the City.' It's feisty and engaging enough, but then Williams suddenly veers into autobiographical territory, wrenching the ground from under your feet, and the novel takes on a new depth and importance. Trisha finds she has breast cancer, and as her battle grows more difficult, she reaches out to James. Part of the brilliance of the story is that the expected never happens -- Trisha and James don't fall into clinches like a ''Love Story" couple. Their relationship is far more complicated and real. As Trisha is increasingly devastated by her disease, James grudgingly lets her into his world, forging a connection that will have repercussions for him, his art, and her. Dreamlike, disturbing, and at times very, very funny, ''Enter Sandman" turns the stuff of Stephanie Williams's life -- and death (tragically, she died in July) -- into real and enduring art."
- Caroline Leavitt, The Boston Globe   {click here for full review}
 
4 out of 5 stars!
"Readers will be hard-pressed to find a more moving death-bed narrative. As Trisha bemoans dying young, never experiencing the joy of motherhood, her words evoke all of our fear of dying young, before we can check off those items on our To-do list."
- Victoria Zackheim, About.com   {click here for full review}
 
"...Abruptly the book rises to a new level. The italicized words almost disappear as Trisha takes on real life. The passage telling how she received the news jumps off the page, for it comes from the heart."
- Michael Kernan, The Washington Post   {click here for full review}