Our Story Begins combines twenty-one of Tobias Wolff's classic stories with ten potent new works, spanning three decades and confirming Wolff's status as a master of the genre. These stories of war, morality, frustration, loneliness and love trace a path through the everyday and the extraordinary, shedding a poignant yet hopeful light on American life and the intricate truths of human nature. “It's impossible to read Tobias Wolff and not come away transformed. . . . [He] fully exposes the good, bad, and ugly about what it means to be alive in this day and age.” - The Philadelphia Inquirer  [Our Story Begins] exhibits classic richness and depth, and it’s built to last…An impressive range of contemporary experience is distilled into crisp, urgent little dramas.” - Kirkus Reviews “Unforgettable…. Wolff's voice is unfailingly authentic, while his embrace of the variety of American experience is knowing, forgiving and all-encompassing.” - The New York Times Book Review