In The Way It Felt to Be Falling the narrator, Kate, recalls the summer she turned 19. During that summer, a recession had caused businesses to close and move South. Kate's father shut down in his own way after his consulting firm closed; he stopped speaking and ended up in the hospital, where he remained all summer.

Kate's mother is a secretary who decorates cakes on the side. The most difficult part of her job is decorating wedding cakes, especially in the summer heat. Although she is normally a calm, level-headed person, one day that summer, when a cake she is working on collapses, Kate's mother cries.

Kate watches her mother through the kitchen door. She hasn't seen her mother cry since the day her father was put in the hospital. After a few minutes pass, Kate's mother collects herself and finishes the cake. She takes...