Thought Catalog Presents: A Talk With Rae Lashea, Author Of 'Hot Tea And Mercy'

"I am going to allow myself to feel every bit of this pain until it hurts too much to stay there."

Join us this Wednesday, December 14th at 7 p.m. EST on Thought Catalog’s Instagram for an IG Live interview with author Rae Lashea about her newest novel Hot Tea and Mercy.

During the interview, we’ll talk with Lashea about her writing journey, the themes of mental health throughout the book, the power dynamics between characters as they struggle to heal, and the biggest lessons she hopes readers will take away from her work.

You can find an exclusive excerpt from Lashea’s novel Hot Tea and Mercy here:

“I am going to sleep late in the mornings and take long baths at night.

I am going to cry hard and eat ice cream fast.

I am going to sit in the dark until I find my light.

Then I’m going to get massages and spa treatments, my hair done and my nails manicured. Go apartment hunting and furniture shopping. Call a lawyer and file for divorce.

I am going to allow myself to feel every bit of this pain until it hurts too much to stay there.

I will be happily miserable, then miserably happy, then just plain ‘ole happy.”

— page 118 of Hot Tea and Mercy by Rae Lashea

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Hot Tea and Mercy is a powerful novel about psychiatrist and closet alcoholic Dr. Marianella Merced who, though barely holding her unraveling life together, charges a pretty penny per hour to guide others in correcting their flaws, including Shandell O’Brien, who is in a losing battle with cancer, and the newly married teacher, Joan Campbell, whose husband is not who she thought he was. As she delves deeper into the stormy lives of the women around her, she becomes inspired to take responsibility for her actions and stay strong during her own darkest hours.

You can find Hot Tea and Mercy exclusively on Shop Catalog.