The stories in Tracy Daugherty’s second collection move through the streets of Houston with the quick step of country music and the melancholy humor of the blues. Romance and friendships develop in unlikely places, as people meet across the divides of race and class. In the tradition of James Joyce’s Dubliners, Daugherty’s stories explore the highs and lows of city life with its messiness and grace, celebrate the surprises and contradictions of community, and present a kaleidoscopic portrait of contemporary America’s energy and vitality.

“Each story immerses us in the gritty cityscape of class, race, and human encounters where little is clear, nothing is simple, and fair play and a fair chance are as hard to come by as real love. Each story leaves us dry-eyed and wiser in that place far beyond tears that we know from our own lives. It Takes a Worried Man rings with the deep truth of good fiction.”
—Shelby Hearon

“Wonderful images of all-too-human guys as they do their best to lead good lives in a morally bankrupt society. They’re tough men who are also gentle and kind. It Takes a Worried Man is a wise book, told with grit and tenderness.”
—Tony Ardizzone