We Never Took a Bad Picture

It's been thirty years since the Joyces made a final pact to save their failing marriage. Gloria Joyce knows the anniversary party she's planning is more than a celebration-it's a crack in the promise she made to her husband after losing their teenage son.

Artie has spent decades retreating into the mundane and orderly world of his grocery store to avoid facing the choices he made as a father and husband. Will the party finally force him to confront the past-or shatter the only routines holding him together?

When their estranged daughter Autumn returns, she is forced to navigate the strained relationship with her mother and own daughter, along with the festering guilt surrounding the role she played in her baby brother's untimely death. As the party looms nearer, the family faces new tragedies, forcing the Joyces to confront what they've buried beneath decades of curated memories and a crafted veneer.

With timelines and voices that weave seamlessly between decades, We Never Took a Bad Picture explores the curation of memories and legacies, intergenerational complexities, and the quiet battles fought behind closed doors.

Ashley N. Roth is a Nashville-based writer, educator, and performer. Her writing has appeared in Moonsick Magazine, Literary Orphans, Crack the Spine, Jersey Devil Press, and elsewhere, with her short story "Adolescent" earning a Pushcart nomination. Her multimedia work has also appeared in various exhibits including the Flying Toaster Video: An Art Exhibit Dedicated to the 1990s, Bowiescapes, and Art All Night in Trenton, New Jersey. When not writing, she can be found revamping www.ashleynroth.com, starring in campy music videos alongside her husband, or perfecting vegan pastries with her ten-year-old daughter.